BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Price

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price target upped by BMO Capital Markets from $94.00 to $102.00 in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on GILD. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.71.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of GILD traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $96.57. The stock had a trading volume of 7,456,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,048,514. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.03. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $98.32. 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 capitalization of $120.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 117.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.17.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The firm had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 375.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $2,459,529.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $8,398,843.87. The trade was 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 through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,545,480.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,437 shares of company stock valued at $5,374,825 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,732,575 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,404,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,910,147 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter valued at about $134,489,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 8,238.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,642,504 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,708,000 after buying an additional 1,622,806 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 61,246,366 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,486,296,000 after purchasing an additional 1,589,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,889,663 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $541,310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,564,792 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

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.