Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Leerink Partnrs

Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on GILD. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.85.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $86.29 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $107.50 billion, a PE ratio of 239.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $81.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Gilead Sciences has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $87.86.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $6.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.64 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 29.34%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 855.56%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total value of $167,660.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,398,843.87. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $2,459,529.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at $6,545,480.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total transaction of $167,660.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,398,843.87. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 36,847 shares of company stock worth $3,033,340. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 198.3% in the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 51.6% in the second quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.