Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Price Target Raised to $126.00

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its target price upped by Bank of America from $116.00 to $126.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.24.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ GILD opened at $117.41 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $99.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.39. Gilead Sciences has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $118.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company has a market cap of $146.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 317.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 854.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 8,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.96, for a total value of $781,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 132,373 shares in the company, valued at $12,173,021.08. The trade was a 6.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 293,356 shares of company stock worth $29,166,240 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.