Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Price Target Raised to $84.00

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price target raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $74.00 to $84.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.50.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ GILD traded down $1.34 on Thursday, reaching $96.57. 7,457,030 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,289,753. The stock has a market cap of $120.22 billion, a PE ratio of 1,072.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.17. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $98.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 EPS 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 28.60%. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 3,422.22%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were 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 owns 100,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,398,843.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,398,843.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,437 shares of company stock valued at $5,374,825 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 198.3% in the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 51.6% during the second quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. 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.