Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Sets New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $99.37 and last traded at $99.24, with a volume of 1879395 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $97.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partners raised Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.39.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.40 billion, a PE ratio of 1,099.74, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.18. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $92.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The firm had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total value of $2,341,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,599 shares in the company, valued at $9,113,308.50. This represents a 20.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 456,234 shares of company stock valued at $42,130,461. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 101.9% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.