ADVFN Logo

We could not find any results for:
Make sure your spelling is correct or try broadening your search.

Trending Now

Toplists

It looks like you aren't logged in.
Click the button below to log in and view your recent history.

Hot Features

Registration Strip Icon for charts Register for streaming realtime charts, analysis tools, and prices.

GSK Gsk Plc

1,706.60
1.40 (0.08%)
Last Updated: 14:23:40
Delayed by 15 minutes
Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Gsk Plc LSE:GSK London Ordinary Share GB00BN7SWP63 ORD 31 1/4P
  Price Change % Change Share Price Bid Price Offer Price High Price Low Price Open Price Shares Traded Last Trade
  1.40 0.08% 1,706.60 1,706.60 1,706.80 1,709.60 1,699.40 1,701.60 1,547,492 14:23:40
Industry Sector Turnover Profit EPS - Basic PE Ratio Market Cap
Pharmaceutical Preparations 30.33B 4.93B 1.1970 14.23 70.1B

LONDON MARKETS: Glaxo, AstraZeneca Lead U.K. Stocks To Two-week High

22/04/2014 6:06pm

Dow Jones News


Gsk (LSE:GSK)
Historical Stock Chart


From Mar 2019 to Mar 2024

Click Here for more Gsk Charts.

By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. equities advanced Tuesday, with AstraZeneca PLC gaining on speculation the British drug maker will receive a takeover bid, while GlaxoSmithKline PLC shares rose as the pharmaceutical heavyweight made a couple of its own deals.

U.K.'s FTSE 100 index leapt 0.9% to 6,681.76, the highest closing level since April 4, according to data from FactSet, following a four-day break in trading in observance of the Easter holiday. Last week, the index finished the holiday-shortened week up by 1.1%.

The FTSE on Tuesday broke above "several resistance levels" including the 6,680 mark, paving the way for the benchmark index to retest an April peak of around 6,705, said Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst at Forex.com, in a note.

AstraZeneca (AZN) helped pace the FTSE 100's gain as its own shares rose 4.7% -- the strongest rise since August 2011, according to FactSet data -- after a Sunday Times report that Pfizer Inc. (PFE) , the largest drug maker in the U.S., had approached AstraZeneca about a possible GBP60 billion ($100.78 billion) merger. Separately, the Daily Telegraph reported that AstraZeneca has hired Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to advise it if Pfizer (PFE) were to again attempt to talk with the company about a takeover bid.

An overlap with cholesterol-lowering medications Lipitor from Pfizer and AstraZeneca's Crestor, "could perhaps cause some [U.S. Federal Trade Commission] concerns but wouldn't be prohibitive," wrote European research analysts at Credit Suisse in a Tuesday note.

Meanwhile, shares of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) tacked on 5.2% following plans by Novartis AG to buy Glaxo's oncology unit for about $14.5 billion, while Novartis sells its vaccines unit to Glaxo for $5.25 billion. The companies are also planning to combine their consumer divisions, which sell medication that doesn't require a prescription.

Shares of biopharmaceutical firm Shire PLC also finished higher, by 7.6%. An estimated "robust" 13% earnings per-share compound annual growth rate from 2013 through 2018, "at a minimum given pipeline news and further cost control, justifies upside for the shares," said Jefferies which on Tuesday reiterated its buy rating on Shire.

But mining issues lost ground, with Anglo American PLC down 0.6% following a Financial Times report that the company is getting ready to leave its platinum mines at Rustenberg in South Africa. Labor strikes that have hurt the country's platinum sector are among the factors Anglo American is assessing as it considers its future at Rustenberg, according to the report.

Platinum prices on Monday dropped 2% as a pay offer by platinum producers in South Africa fell short of union demands, which may result in a strike by workers continuing for weeks, according to Bloomberg.

Shares of Randgold Resources Ltd. were off 2.4%, Fresnillo PLC dropped 2.3% and Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO) pulled back by 1%.

Investors in the U.K. market will soon likely have another stock to watch, as Card Factory reportedly said it plans to list shares on the London Stock Exchange next month. The greetings-card specialist, which is majority owned by private equity group Charterhouse Capital Partners, could raise up $90 million from the float, according to Reuters.

More MarketWatch news:

Swedish fund rejects Volkswagen's Scania-stake bid

Biden urges Ukraine to adopt constitutional reforms

Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires


1 Year Gsk Chart

1 Year Gsk Chart

1 Month Gsk Chart

1 Month Gsk Chart

Your Recent History

Delayed Upgrade Clock