Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $157.6154.

Several analysts recently commented on GILD shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $128.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.44, for a total value of $4,324,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 120,288 shares in the company, valued at $18,577,278.72. The trade was a 18.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $617,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,101,620. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 303,280 shares of company stock worth $43,203,470. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GILD. Norges Bank bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,617,152,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 397.6% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,748,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $748,147,000 after buying an additional 5,392,191 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $517,808,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3,763.8% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,223,304 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $518,368,000 after acquiring an additional 4,113,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,521,228 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,499,098,000 after acquiring an additional 3,394,330 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $145.21 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $93.37 and a 12 month high of $157.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market cap of $180.27 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.19.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $7.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 28.90%.Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.450-8.850 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

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.