Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Hits New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on the stock from $105.00 to $108.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Gilead Sciences traded as high as $122.32 and last traded at $122.50, with a volume of 4410049 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $117.85.

Several other brokerages have also commented on GILD. Daiwa America raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Needham & Company LLC raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $133.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.08, for a total value of $295,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 157,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,545,054.40. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $3,318,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 114,168 shares in the company, valued at $13,532,333.04. This represents a 19.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,500 shares of company stock valued at $8,281,540. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 7,932 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Archer Investment Corp raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 7,277 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 702 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EPG Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. EPG Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,627 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $513,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 4.2%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $152.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $115.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $110.52.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.95 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 50.99% and a net margin of 21.86%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.950-8.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 62.95%.

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.