Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Price Target to $75.00

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price target upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $74.00 to $75.00 in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on GILD. Evercore ISI raised Gilead Sciences to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Raymond James raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $93.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an overweight rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $82.12.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.5 %

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $84.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $105.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 234.97, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $87.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.90.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $6.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.64 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 29.34%. Equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 855.56%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total transaction of $167,660.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,398,843.87. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,398,843.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,847 shares of company stock worth $3,033,340 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GILD. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 198.3% in the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 51.6% in the second quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth $34,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.