GSK share price: Group to post Q4 results as generic Advair threat looms

GlaxoSmithKline (LON:GSK) is scheduled to post its fourth-quarter results on Wednesday, following last week’s approval of a generic version of the pharmco’s flagship respiratory drug Advair. The update will also come after the FTSE 100 group’s chairman Sir Philip Hampton unveiled plans to step down, with the company set to create a nearly £10-billion consumer healthcare joint venture with US peer Pfizer.

GSK’s share price has been little changed in London in today’s session, having inched 0.04 percent lower to 1,482.80p as of 14:53 GMT. The stock is underperforming the broader UK market, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index currently standing 0.21 percent higher at 7,035.24 points. The group’s shares have added just under 13 percent to their value over the past year, as compared with about a 5.5-percent fall in the Footsie.

GSK results preview

GSK is scheduled to update investors on its fourth-quarter performance on Wednesday and IG reports that earnings are expected to have fallen 0.2 percent year-on-year to 27.1p per share, while revenue is expected to have climbed 4.2 percent to £7.96 billion.

Investors will also eye the group’s earnings outlook going forward after the US Food and Drug Administration approved the first generic version of the pharmco’s asthma treatment Advair Diskus. Mylan, which obtained the approval to market the generic inhaler, said that the treatment will launch in the second half of February.

Analyst ratings update

Jefferies, which rates GSK as a ‘buy,’ set a price target of 1,750p on the shares last week, while Goldman Sachs, which is also bullish on the company with a ‘buy’ rating, set a valuation of 1,900p. According to MarketBeat, the blue-chip group currently has a consensus ‘hold’ rating and an average price target of 1,520.84p.

As of 15:16 GMT, Monday, 04 February, GlaxoSmithKline plc share price is 1,482.80p.