Wall Street Zen Downgrades GSK (NYSE:GSK) to Hold

GSK (NYSE:GSK) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on GSK. Jefferies Financial Group raised GSK to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup assumed coverage on GSK in a research note on Friday, July 24th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut GSK from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of GSK in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of GSK from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

GSK Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of GSK opened at $51.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.82. GSK has a 52 week low of $36.75 and a 52 week high of $61.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $51.73 and a 200-day moving average of $53.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GSK

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GSK. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in GSK in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $528,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in GSK by 182.7% during the 4th quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 30,188 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,480,000 after purchasing an additional 19,509 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in GSK by 146.6% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,529 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,448,000 after purchasing an additional 17,553 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new position in GSK during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,522,000. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in GSK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,385,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

GSK Company Profile

GSK (GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a London-headquartered, multinational pharmaceutical and healthcare company formed through the 2000 merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. The company is dual-listed and operates globally, developing, manufacturing and commercializing prescription medicines, vaccines and specialty treatments. Over its history GSK has evolved through portfolio reshaping and strategic transactions to focus on science-led pharmaceuticals and vaccines.

GSK’s core activities include research and development of therapies and vaccines across a range of therapeutic areas, commercial manufacturing, and global marketing.