Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $95.41.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on GILD. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, October 21st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $2,459,529.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. The trade was a 27.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total value of $2,341,485.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,599 shares in the company, valued at $9,113,308.50. The trade was a 20.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,947 shares of company stock valued at $4,968,674. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 3,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 9,397 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 17,822 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,494,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, FDx Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.2% during the third quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 5,365 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $450,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $91.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.26. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $98.90. The firm has a market cap of $113.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,015.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.17. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $87.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.31.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 3,422.22%.

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.