Short Interest in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Decreases By 8.9%

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,930,000 shares, a decline of 8.9% from the January 15th total of 25,170,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 7,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, 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 owns 8,920 shares in the company, valued at $815,198.80. The trade was a 43.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 137,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.22, for a total transaction of $14,073,240.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 171,223 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,502,415.06. The trade was a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 710,500 shares of company stock worth $67,684,956 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GILD. Redwood Financial Network Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 2,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $782,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Asset Management LLC VA raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 3,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $105.25 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $94.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $87.89. Gilead Sciences has a 52 week low of $62.07 and a 52 week high of $106.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.17 billion, a PE ratio of 1,169.44, a P/E/G 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. 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 3.00%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3,422.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.08.

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.