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

Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $105.12.

Several equities analysts recently commented on GILD shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total value of $13,822,739.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $12,626,253.06. This represents a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,540,875. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redwood Financial Network Corp grew its stake 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 worth $234,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew 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 buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% in the first quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,040 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in the first quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 3,880 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Southland Equity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $104.49 on Friday. Gilead Sciences has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $119.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $109.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $130.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 282.40, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.