Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have issued a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $104.52.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total transaction of $13,822,739.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $12,626,253.06. This trade represents a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redwood Financial Network Corp boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 2,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $289,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Bank grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CFO4Life Group LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of GILD opened at $106.74 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $119.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 288.49, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $104.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 854.05%.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines in the areas of unmet medical need in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy, Odefsey, Truvada, Complera/ Eviplera, Stribild, Sunlencs, and Atripla products for the treatment of HIV/AIDS; Veklury, an injection for intravenous use, for the treatment of COVID-19; and Epclusa, Harvoni, Vemlidy, and Viread for the treatment of viral hepatitis.