Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

GILD has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $157.00 to $156.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.04.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $150.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.22 billion, a PE ratio of -56.55 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a fifty day moving average of $137.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.27. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $108.46 and a fifty-two week high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post -0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently -122.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total transaction of $725,100.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,459,771.32. This trade represents a 33.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total transaction of $3,853,920.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 118,234 shares in the company, valued at $16,273,727.76. This represents a 19.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 105,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,495,820 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after buying an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $215,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 118,695 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,160,000 after purchasing an additional 12,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 18.6% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 674 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.