GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) Short Interest Up 57.4% in June

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) saw a large growth in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 13,220,000 shares, a growth of 57.4% from the June 15th total of 8,400,000 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,660,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days.

GSK Price Performance

GSK stock opened at $39.16 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.37. The stock has a market cap of $81.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.64. GSK has a 1 year low of $33.67 and a 1 year high of $45.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 14.62% and a return on equity of 51.54%. The firm had revenue of $9.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.98 billion. Research analysts anticipate that GSK will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $0.3762 dividend. This is a boost from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio is 54.35%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GSK shares. UBS Group cut shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of GSK from $52.50 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of GSK in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $47.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $50.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GSK

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in GSK by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,078 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the period. Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of GSK by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 10,087 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. Boltwood Capital Management raised its stake in GSK by 2.5% during the second quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 11,133 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in GSK by 4.7% in the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 6,097 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the period. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its position in GSK by 4.7% during the second quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 6,359 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $245,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GSK Company Profile

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines, and specialty and general medicines to prevent and treat disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Commercial Operations and Total R&D.