Traders Buy Large Volume of GSK Put Options (NYSE:GSK)

GSK PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:GSK) saw some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 39,552 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 731% compared to the typical daily volume of 4,762 put options.

GSK Stock Performance

Shares of GSK traded up $0.21 on Tuesday, reaching $52.44. 2,298,439 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,812,095. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $106.19 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.75. GSK has a 52-week low of $35.45 and a 52-week high of $61.69.

GSK Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. GSK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GSK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of GSK in a report on Friday, February 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of GSK in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded GSK from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded GSK from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, GSK has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.00.

Institutional Trading of GSK

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in GSK by 17.5% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 9,424 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 1,405 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in GSK by 0.6% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 108,026 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,962,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in GSK by 67.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,092 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $336,000 after buying an additional 2,457 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates purchased a new stake in GSK in the first quarter worth $2,522,000. Finally, Citizens National Bank Trust Department increased its position in GSK by 14.7% in the first quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 3,122 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $172,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.