Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Upgraded to Outperform at Leerink Partners

Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat reports. Leerink Partners currently has $96.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, up from their prior target price of $74.00.

GILD has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have given 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 $86.85.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.8 %

GILD opened at $88.78 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.61 billion, a PE ratio of 246.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.18. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $89.21. The company’s 50-day moving average is $81.87 and its 200 day moving average is $73.17.

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

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 855.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total value of $2,459,529.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,545,480.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,398,843.87. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total value 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 36,847 shares of company stock worth $3,033,340. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 198.3% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the first quarter worth about $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 51.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.