Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Rating Reaffirmed by Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler restated their overweight rating on shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) in a research note published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has a $95.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC restated a hold rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a neutral rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Monday. Truist Financial raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $82.06.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of GILD opened at $80.94 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.82 and a 200 day moving average of $70.72. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $87.86. The firm has a market cap of $100.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 224.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.14.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 3.79%. The company had revenue of $6.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.64 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 855.56%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $406,150.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,506,146.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $406,150.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,506,146.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $137,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,380 shares in the company, valued at $6,614,559.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 7,551 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 4,342 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,830 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $661,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 4,185 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 7,348 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.