Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the nineteen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $81.25.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GILD. 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 research report on Monday, July 8th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $137,260.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,614,559.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $137,260.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,380 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,614,559.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total value of $406,150.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 114,979 shares in the company, valued at $8,506,146.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lazari Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 11.9% during the second quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. now owns 22,995 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,578,000 after buying an additional 2,448 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $9,312,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.8% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 217,702 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $14,937,000 after buying an additional 3,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 18.2% during the second quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 4,980 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $342,000 after buying an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $81.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.14. Gilead Sciences has a 52 week low of $62.07 and a 52 week high of $87.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $74.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.39 billion, a PE ratio of 226.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $6.95 billion for 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 855.56%.

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.