Updated: December 13, 2025
GSK plc (LSE: GSK, NYSE: GSK) is ending the week in the spotlight after a cluster of regulatory updates in Europe and the United States—exactly the kind of “catalyst stacking” that can shift the narrative around a big pharma stock from defensive dividend name to pipeline and launch execution story. Add in an active share buyback program, a clearly mapped dividend calendar, and an incoming CEO transition in early 2026, and GSK stock has plenty for investors to digest heading into year-end. [1]
As of the latest available quote, GSK’s U.S.-listed ADR was about $48.81, with a 52-week range of $32.92 to $50.65, and an indicated dividend yield around 4.79% (figures reflect the ADR listing).
GSK stock price snapshot: where shares stand now
GSK’s ADR finished the latest session near the top of its 52-week range, and technical analysts have been watching the move closely. One widely-circulated market note flagged that GSK shares crossed above the 200-day moving average, often interpreted (rightly or wrongly) as a “trend improvement” signal for momentum-oriented traders. [2]
That technical tone matters because it can amplify the impact of fundamental news. When the chart stops looking like a ski slope and starts looking like a staircase, every pipeline headline suddenly feels louder.
The big catalyst: EU regulator backs depemokimab, GSK’s twice-yearly asthma biologic
The headline driving much of the late-week attention: Europe’s medicines regulator (EMA) recommended approval of depemokimab, a biologic designed for twice-yearly dosing. Reuters reported the recommendation came from the EMA’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), covering use as an add-on maintenance treatment for severe asthma with type 2 inflammation (in adults and adolescents 12+) and for chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). [3]
GSK’s own release adds important clinical and timeline details:
- The CHMP recommendation covers two indications (severe asthma with type 2 inflammation; severe CRSwNP as add-on with intranasal corticosteroids). [4]
- A European Commission decision is expected in Q1 2026. [5]
- In pooled results from the SWIFT trials, depemokimab showed a 54% reduction in clinically significant asthma exacerbations over 52 weeks versus placebo, with an additional reduction in exacerbations requiring hospitalization or emergency care. [6]
Why investors care: in a crowded respiratory biologics market, dosing convenience can be a real differentiator. Reuters also highlighted the competitive set—Dupixent (Sanofi/Regeneron), Xolair (Roche/Novartis), Tezspire (Amgen/AstraZeneca), and GSK’s own Nucala—framing depemokimab’s “twice a year” profile as the potential novelty. [7]
A near-term U.S. catalyst is still in play
This isn’t just a Europe story. Reuters noted the U.S. FDA is expected to make a decision on depemokimab this month, and GSK previously told investors in its Q3 update that a U.S. decision was expected in December 2025. [8]
For GSK stock watchers, that creates a classic setup: EU momentum now, U.S. read-through potentially next.
Second EU tailwind: Arexvy backed for broader adult use (18+)
GSK also announced that the CHMP recommended expanding the indication for Arexvy (its RSV vaccine) to all adults aged 18 and older in the European Union, with a final decision expected in February 2026. [9]
In its press release, GSK highlighted the public-health context: in the EU, an average of 158,000 adults are hospitalized with RSV-related illness each year. [10]
From a market standpoint, Reuters framed the expanded label as a way for Arexvy to compete more directly in a competitive RSV landscape that includes Pfizer’s Abrysvo and Moderna’s mResvia. [11]
The nuance for investors: expanded eligibility can widen the addressable market, but the RSV vaccine market has been intensely competitive and policy-sensitive, so the commercial impact typically depends on country-by-country recommendations, reimbursement, and uptake.
U.S. regulatory win: FDA expands Blujepa for gonorrhea—new antibiotic class spotlight
On the infectious disease front, the FDA expanded GSK’s antibiotic Blujepa (gepotidacin) as an oral treatment option for uncomplicated urogenital gonorrhea in patients 12+ (≥45 kg) who have limited or no alternative options. [12]
Both Reuters and GSK emphasized why this matters beyond one label expansion:
- Blujepa represents the first approval in decades for a new class of antibiotics for gonorrhea, a disease where resistance has been a growing concern. [13]
- The treatment adds an oral option in a space dominated by injectable standard-of-care therapies. [14]
The FDA also issued a broader public statement noting that it approved two oral therapies to treat gonorrhea across two days—Blujepa first, followed by Innoviva’s Nuzolvence (zoliflodacin). [15]
For GSK’s equity story, Blujepa does double duty: it’s a potential revenue contributor, and it reinforces management’s push to strengthen areas like infectious disease as the company manages longer-term patent-cycle realities in other franchises. [16]
Oncology pipeline pulse: FDA Orphan Drug Designation for GSK’227 (risvutatug rezetecan)
A third, quieter—but still investor-relevant—update landed mid-week: GSK said its B7-H3–targeted antibody-drug conjugate GSK’227 (INN: risvutatug rezetecan) received FDA Orphan Drug Designation for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). [17]
GSK added several specifics that help investors frame the opportunity and risk:
- The designation was supported by preliminary clinical data showing durable responses in extensive-stage SCLC in the phase I ARTEMIS-001 trial. [18]
- GSK stated its global phase III trial in relapsed extensive-stage SCLC began in August 2025. [19]
- The company also contextualized the disease severity (high relapse rates, limited options, low 5-year survival). [20]
Pipeline designations don’t equal approvals, but they can accelerate development pathways and strengthen the longer-term “shots on goal” narrative—especially when the market is already paying attention to other regulatory wins in the same week.
Capital returns: buybacks continue and the dividend calendar matters this week
Share buyback activity (December updates)
GSK remains active in repurchasing shares under its buyback program. In a recent filing, the company disclosed it repurchased 217,000 ordinary shares on 11 December 2025 (via BNP Paribas), to be held in treasury, and reported that since 30 September 2025 it had purchased 13,161,733 ordinary shares under the program. [21]
Buybacks rarely move a mega-cap stock in a single day—but they can support per-share metrics over time, and they often signal management’s confidence in cash generation and valuation.
Dividend timing: a key date lands on Dec. 15
For income-focused holders, GSK’s dividend calendar highlights that for the Q3 2025 dividend, the last date for DRIP elections is 15 December 2025, with the payment date on 8 January 2026. [22]
In its Q3 performance update, GSK also reiterated shareholder return priorities, including the Q3 dividend declaration and the expectation of a full-year 2025 dividend (as presented in that update). [23]
Forecasts: what the Street expects for GSK’s financial trajectory
GSK’s own compiled analyst consensus (as of Nov. 26, 2025)
One of the most useful “forecast” sources is actually GSK’s company-collected analyst consensus, which aggregates estimates from brokerage firms covering the stock. As of 26 November 2025, that consensus indicated:
- 2025 total turnover around £32.5bn, rising to about £36.3bn in 2029 before easing by 2031 (per the table). [24]
- Consensus EPS (pence) rising from 170.1p (2025) to 203.7p (2029), with dividend per share also projected to grow over the period shown. [25]
- The consensus dataset listed 12 contributing firms, including major banks such as Bank of America, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, UBS and others. [26]
Important framing: this is not “a promise,” it’s a rolling snapshot of analyst models—still, it’s one of the cleanest ways to understand the market’s baseline expectations without cherry-picking a single bullish or bearish note.
12‑month price targets (and why they can diverge from “today’s” tape)
Third-party compilations of analyst targets can look different depending on coverage universe and update cadence. For example, MarketBeat lists a consensus price target of $44.13 for GSK’s ADR based on eight analysts, with targets ranging from $35.25 to $53.00—a spread that signals meaningful disagreement on valuation and growth durability. [27]
With the ADR trading near $48.8, that particular consensus implies downside—yet the range also shows some analysts still see upside from current levels. [28]
“Quant” and model-driven forecasts: useful as sentiment indicators, not oracles
A number of sites publish algorithmic or technical “forecasts.” Some suggest modest near-term ranges, while others argue undervaluation via discounted cash flow models. For instance, Simply Wall St published a valuation take suggesting material undervaluation based on its DCF assumptions. [29]
These model-driven forecasts can be helpful as sentiment and assumption checkers—but they’re extremely sensitive to inputs (discount rates, growth rates, terminal value assumptions), so they’re best treated as scenario tools, not truth machines.
Strategy and leadership: a CEO handoff is weeks away
Another key “near-term” event for the GSK story is leadership. GSK has announced that Luke Miels will assume full responsibilities as CEO and join the Board on January 1, 2026, succeeding Dame Emma Walmsley. [30]
CEO transitions don’t automatically change a company’s fundamentals, but they can change the market’s patience with pipeline execution, M&A, and capital allocation. With multiple pipeline catalysts landing around the same period, that handoff will be watched closely.
Risks and pressure points investors are still tracking
Even in a catalyst-heavy week, the long-term questions around large pharma don’t vanish—GSK included:
- Pricing policy and reimbursement pressure remains a structural theme across the sector. Reuters reported that drugmakers broadly did not expect major hits from a new round of Medicare drug price negotiations, with companies pointing to their planning and product mix. [31]
- Patent-cycle management matters. Reuters noted GSK is leaning on newer products (including infectious disease initiatives and its RSV vaccine) as it prepares for future revenue headwinds from patent expirations in HIV. [32]
- Litigation overhang has eased but not disappeared from memory. GSK previously announced settlement agreements to resolve the large majority of U.S. state-court Zantac cases (without admission of liability), and Reuters has reported subsequent court developments affecting the broader Zantac litigation landscape. [33]
What to watch next for GSK stock
If you’re tracking GSK shares into the end of 2025 and early 2026, the next major catalysts are unusually well-defined:
- U.S. FDA decision on depemokimab (expected in December 2025, per GSK and Reuters). [34]
- European Commission decisions: depemokimab (expected Q1 2026) and Arexvy expanded indication (expected February 2026). [35]
- CEO transition effective January 1, 2026. [36]
- Next earnings window: the ADR listing data points to an earnings date in early February 2026.
- Dividend mechanics: DRIP deadline Dec. 15, 2025, payment Jan. 8, 2026 (Q3 dividend cycle). [37]
Bottom line
As of December 13, 2025, GSK plc stock is being pulled forward by a rare concentration of tangible, regulator-driven updates: a twice‑yearly respiratory biologic moving through Europe, a broader adult label pathway for an RSV vaccine, and a U.S. infectious disease label expansion that reinforces the company’s “new launches” cadence. [38]
Whether that momentum turns into sustained outperformance will depend on the next set of confirmations—especially the pending U.S. depemokimab decision, early 2026 European approvals, and the market’s read on strategy as the CEO baton passes on January 1. [39]
References
1. www.reuters.com, 2. www.marketbeat.com, 3. www.reuters.com, 4. www.gsk.com, 5. www.gsk.com, 6. www.gsk.com, 7. www.reuters.com, 8. www.reuters.com, 9. www.reuters.com, 10. www.gsk.com, 11. www.reuters.com, 12. www.reuters.com, 13. www.reuters.com, 14. www.reuters.com, 15. www.fda.gov, 16. www.reuters.com, 17. www.gsk.com, 18. www.gsk.com, 19. www.gsk.com, 20. www.gsk.com, 21. www.sec.gov, 22. www.gsk.com, 23. www.gsk.com, 24. www.gsk.com, 25. www.gsk.com, 26. www.gsk.com, 27. www.marketbeat.com, 28. www.marketbeat.com, 29. simplywall.st, 30. www.gsk.com, 31. www.reuters.com, 32. www.reuters.com, 33. www.gsk.com, 34. www.gsk.com, 35. www.gsk.com, 36. www.gsk.com, 37. www.gsk.com, 38. www.reuters.com, 39. www.reuters.com
