Haleon (NYSE:HLN) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $9.79, but opened at $10.20. Haleon shares last traded at $10.11, with a volume of 1,391,381 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on HLN shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Haleon from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered Haleon from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.95.

Haleon Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.83. The stock has a market cap of $46.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Haleon (NYSE:HLN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Haleon had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 14.76%. The business had revenue of $3.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Haleon plc will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Haleon by 44.4% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 25,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 7,856 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Haleon during the 3rd quarter worth $3,700,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Haleon by 3.0% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 61,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,766 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Haleon during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in Haleon by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 46,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 8,319 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 6.67% of the company’s stock.

About Haleon

Haleon plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of various consumer healthcare products in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides oral health products, such as toothpastes, mouth washes, and denture care products under the Sensodyne, Polident, Parodontax, Biotene brands; and vitamins, minerals, and supplements under Centrum, Emergen-C, Caltrate brands.