Insider: a FTSE 100 director deal and buying at multi-year low
One exec is betting this blue-chip is still good value, while City writer Graeme Evans reports heavy buying of a stock at a notable discount to European peers.
5th May 2026 08:01
by Graeme Evans from interactive investor
GSK (LSE:GSK) shares worth £78,000 have been bought by one of its directors after the City gave a lukewarm response to the pharmaceutical group’s latest quarterly results.
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Former Vodafone chief marketing officer Wendy Becker, who has been a GSK non-executive board member since October 2023, picked up shares on Wednesday at a price of 1,962.9p.
This compared with 2,028p prior to that day’s first-quarter results and the recent peak of 2,268p, which was set in February after a surge of more than 65% since mid-July.
The shares fell as far as 1,853p on Wednesday afternoon before closing the week at 1,904.5p, still a rise of about 30% over the past year.
Last week’s reverse came even though first-quarter group sales of £7.6 billion rose 5% on a constant currency basis for a 1% beat against City forecasts.
However, Deutsche Bank analysts called it “an uneven start to the year” after pointing out that a number of GSK’s key brands missed expectations.
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The performance was boosted by the Vaccines division after strong EU demand and US inventory movements helped Shingrix sales to jump by 20% to £1 billion.
The company’s biggest division of specialty medicines posted revenue growth of 14%, driven by oncology and GSK’s HIV portfolio.
New chief executive Luke Miels called the performance a strong start to 2026 as he reiterated full-year guidance for group sales growth of between 3% and 5% at constant exchange rates and a 7-9% rise in core operating profit and earnings per share.
He also backed plans for a 70p a share total dividend in 2026, including the award of 17p a share worth £684 million on 9 July.
The company highlighted 57 potential new vaccines and medicines in its pipeline, which Miels will discuss in more detail alongside other high value opportunities at interim results on 29 July.
Deutsche Bank said that not only had GSK failed to deliver the guidance improvement it considered possible, “the underwhelming performances for a host of key brands will raise the question of whether that’s now even feasible at Q2.”
It has a price target of 1,900p, while counterparts at UBS have a Neutral stance with a fair value estimate of 1,940p.
Core operating profit rose 10% to £2.65 billion in Wednesday’s update, but UBS said this was flattered by £170 million of one-offs, including £90 million of US Shingrix stocking that is expected to unwind in the current quarter.
Without one-offs, it said the reported 8% beat on first-quarter earnings would have been 1%.
Hull fills up on pharma
An encouraging update by Hikma Pharmaceuticals (LSE:HIK) has been backed up through boardroom dealings after chair Victoria Hull bought £200,000 of shares at a three-year low price.
Hull, who has been a director since 2022, increased her stake after Hikma reiterated full-year guidance and reassured investors over the demand and inflationary impact of the Iran conflict.
The accessible medicines company generates about a third of revenues in the Middle East and North Africa, where it is a supplier of injectable and branded generic products.
It said inventory levels were sufficient to mitigate potential supply chain disruption, while it is also confident that it can absorb pressure on shipping, energy and insurance costs.
Hikma’s update on 23 April backed the guidance it gave at February’s results, when a forecast of revenues growth between 2% and 4% added to City disappointment following November’s reset of margin and investment expectations in the injectables division.
Injectables remains on track for revenue growth in the low single digits and a 27-28% operating margin, alongside continued strong momentum in Branded and broadly flat performance in the North America-focused Hikma Rx division.
Post-results selling and fears of Middle East disruption left the shares at 1,209p in early March, the lowest price since October 2022. This compared with 1,652p when Hikma was still a member of the FTSE 100 index on 21 February and 2,340p the previous February.
Hull bought her shares last week at 1,376p, while City firms Berenberg and Deutsche Bank disclosed price targets of 1,800p and 1,950p respectively following the recent update.
Berenberg said: “We think that consistent execution in line with guidance will be key to Hikma rebuilding confidence and achieving a re-rating.
“As such, it was encouraging to see Hikma reiterate both its group and segmental 2026 guidance at its trading update following a turbulent 2025 and start to 2026.”
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The City firm forecasts a softer 2026 for Hikma, but continues to believe that a path back to earnings growth is possible from 2027 onwards.
Deutsche Bank said unchanged guidance at both group and divisional levels was “significant reassurance”, especially given the company's recent history of profit warnings, and was a positive step in rebuilding investor credibility.
It added that a multiple of eight times forecast earnings represented a notable discount to European peers.
Hull joined the board as a non-executive director in November 2022 and was senior independent director for three years until stepping up to board chair in February.
The appointment followed Said Darwazah’s decision to relinquish the role of executive chair so that he can focus the next two years on his third spell as Hikma’s chief executive.
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