Brokerages Set Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Price Target at $110.55

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $110.55.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GILD. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $125.00 price target for the company.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD stock opened at $111.28 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $138.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.43, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.02. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $66.34 and a fifty-two week high of $119.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.04. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 20.76% and a return on equity of 51.93%. The company had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.32) EPS. Gilead Sciences’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 66.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.42, for a total value of $1,104,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 620,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $68,489,992.56. The trade was a 1.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $3,010,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 121,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,026,263.04. The trade was a 18.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,500 shares of company stock worth $6,340,745 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,789,254,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 314.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,703,103 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,647,484,000 after buying an additional 11,156,382 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,724,306,000 after buying an additional 7,157,113 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $620,415,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 13,891.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,550,298 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $285,761,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532,070 shares during the period. 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.