Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have given a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $104.52.

A number of analysts recently commented on GILD shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total value of $13,822,739.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,626,253.06. This represents a 52.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,171,691 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,044,795,000 after acquiring an additional 841,776 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,724,306,000 after purchasing an additional 7,157,113 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,659,007 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,293,822,000 after buying an additional 1,058,331 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,289,917 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,608,337,000 after buying an additional 749,047 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth $1,789,254,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $106.74 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $104.01 and its 200 day moving average is $94.15. Gilead Sciences has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $119.96. The stock has a market cap of $132.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 288.49, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 854.05%.

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.