Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Given New $110.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its target price raised by Piper Sandler from $105.00 to $110.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.33.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 7.5 %

NASDAQ GILD opened at $103.31 on Wednesday. Gilead Sciences has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $104.71. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $93.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,147.89, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18. 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 (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 3,422.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $815,198.80. This trade represents a 43.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total transaction of $13,822,739.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,626,253.06. This represents a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 572,824 shares of company stock worth $53,611,715. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during 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 period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 101.9% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 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.