Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $105.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.37.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $87.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $108.84 billion, a PE ratio of 242.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.71. Gilead Sciences has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $87.86.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.64 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 855.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $406,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 114,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,506,146.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total value of $406,150.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,506,146.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the company’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 owns 100,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,398,843.87. 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 valued at $3,033,340. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,732,575 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,404,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,147 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 84,497,404 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,189,435,000 after buying an additional 1,133,281 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 61,246,366 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,486,296,000 after buying an additional 1,589,240 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 0.8% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,412,413 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $714,421,000 after acquiring an additional 268,208 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

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.