Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $158.78

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-three have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $158.78.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Finally, HSBC upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $152.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $188.73 billion, a PE ratio of -57.01 and a beta of 0.33. Gilead Sciences has a 1 year low of $108.46 and a 1 year high of $157.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $142.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. The company had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. Gilead Sciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post -0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.29, for a total transaction of $435,870.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 164,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,841,507.84. This trade represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel O’Day sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.64, for a total transaction of $2,229,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 577,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,785,049.12. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 105,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,616,390 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,393,785,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,617,152,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,316,606,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at $918,387,000. Finally, Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $517,808,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc (NASDAQ: GILD) is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. Its research and commercial activities focus primarily on virology, including HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, as well as oncology, inflammation and other areas of significant unmet medical need.

Gilead’s portfolio includes HIV treatments such as Biktarvy, Descovy, Genvoya and Sunlenca; hepatitis therapies including Epclusa, Harvoni and Vemlidy; and Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral used to treat COVID-19 in certain patients.