Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Short Interest Down 11.1% in September

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 17,740,000 shares, a drop of 11.1% from the September 15th total of 19,950,000 shares. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,510,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock traded up $0.83 on Thursday, hitting $87.58. 1,675,544 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,080,831. Gilead Sciences has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $87.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a market cap of $109.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 242.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.18. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.61.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly 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. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 3.79%. The business had revenue of $6.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. Analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 855.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GILD. Raymond James raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Gilead Sciences from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $2,459,529.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total transaction of $167,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 100,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,398,843.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at $6,545,480.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,847 shares of company stock worth $3,033,340. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,328,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 0.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,414,268 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $851,743,000 after buying an additional 93,068 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the first quarter worth about $462,000. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 751.1% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 127,258 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,322,000 after acquiring an additional 112,305 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 286,116 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $19,630,000 after acquiring an additional 33,162 shares during the last quarter. 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.