Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Given New $94.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its target price upped by BMO Capital Markets from $85.00 to $94.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Evercore ISI raised Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Monday, September 16th. Raymond James raised Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Gilead Sciences from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $78.00 to $100.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.37.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD stock opened at $87.36 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $87.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $80.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.71. The stock has a market cap of $108.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 242.67, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 3.79%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $2,459,529.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,545,480.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Gilead Sciences 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 value of $167,660.00. Following the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,847 shares of company stock valued at $3,033,340 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 198.3% in the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.