BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Price

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its target price upped by BMO Capital Markets from $110.00 to $115.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on GILD. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.33.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 7.5 %

GILD opened at $103.31 on Wednesday. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $104.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company’s 50-day moving average is $93.14 and its 200 day moving average is $87.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,147.89, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its 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 net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. Research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total value of $13,822,739.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,626,253.06. This trade represents a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total value of $620,355.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $815,198.80. This represents a 43.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 572,824 shares of company stock worth $53,611,715 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 101.9% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.