Traders Purchase High Volume of GSK Call Options (NYSE:GSK)

GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK) was the target of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders bought 122,136 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 1,570% compared to the typical daily volume of 7,312 call options.

GSK Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:GSK opened at $47.14 on Friday. GSK has a fifty-two week low of $31.72 and a fifty-two week high of $48.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.46. The company has a market cap of $95.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.50.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The pharmaceutical company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.22. GSK had a net margin of 17.16% and a return on equity of 51.07%. The firm had revenue of $11.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. GSK has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.730-4.810 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that GSK will post 4.14 earnings per share for the current year.

GSK Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.4171 dividend. This represents a $1.67 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in GSK in the second quarter valued at $25,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of GSK by 222.2% in the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 667 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of GSK during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. CNB Bank acquired a new stake in shares of GSK in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. boosted its position in GSK by 252.1% during the second quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 845 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of GSK from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Cfra set a $53.00 price objective on shares of GSK in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of GSK in a report on Monday, October 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, GSK has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.13.

About GSK

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.