Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-nine research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $158.0370.

Several equities research analysts have commented on GILD shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. HSBC raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $133.00 to $155.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total value of $725,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,459,771.32. This trade represents a 33.19% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.36, for a total transaction of $415,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 165,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,918,780.56. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 90,000 shares of company stock valued at $12,266,220 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 12,498.3% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 241,168,657 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,469,248,000 after purchasing an additional 239,254,365 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $15,393,785,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $2,617,152,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at $1,316,606,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at $918,387,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $146.34 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -54.81 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $134.68 and a 200 day moving average of $136.50. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $108.46 and a 12 month high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. The company had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.Gilead Sciences’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is -122.85%.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.