Analysts Set Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) PT at $96.43

Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $96.43.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ GILD opened at $92.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,031.11, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $98.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $90.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.07.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3,422.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 100,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,398,843.87. The trade was a 1.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total value of $620,355.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,920 shares in the company, valued at $815,198.80. The trade was a 43.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 455,734 shares of company stock valued at $42,069,746 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,162,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,780,329,000 after purchasing an additional 14,680,161 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 50.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,900,921,000 after purchasing an additional 11,665,593 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 350.1% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,305,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $193,274,000 after buying an additional 1,793,145 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 8,238.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,642,504 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,708,000 after buying an additional 1,622,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 24.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,889,663 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $541,310,000 after buying an additional 1,564,792 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

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.