UBS Group Trims Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Target Price to $75.00

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price objective reduced by UBS Group from $81.00 to $75.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com raised Gilead Sciences from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Truist Financial downgraded Gilead Sciences from a buy rating to a hold rating and cut their price target for the stock from $91.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $84.71.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $66.76 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $83.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.19. Gilead Sciences has a 1-year low of $65.90 and a 1-year high of $87.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $71.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.53.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.04). Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 38.85%. The business had revenue of $7.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 6.55 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.61%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 68.44%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total value of $145,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,026,339.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 83,364,123 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,753,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,642,736 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 59,657,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,832,824,000 after buying an additional 1,743,418 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,630,134 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,509,227,000 after buying an additional 2,350,550 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 324.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 18,002,214 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,070,232,000 after buying an additional 13,764,169 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 17,196,950 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,476,358,000 after acquiring an additional 1,780,489 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

About Gilead Sciences

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.