Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $176.05 and last traded at $174.4720, with a volume of 12,628 shares. The stock had previously closed at $174.48.

Gilead Sciences News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Gilead Sciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Gilead reported third-quarter revenue of $8.3 billion, beat earnings expectations, and raised full-year product sales guidance. It maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.82 per share. Did Earnings Beat Just Shift Gilead Sciences’ Investment Narrative?
• Positive Sentiment: DZ Bank raised its price target to $191 from $167, adding to the favorable analyst outlook. DZ Bank Adjusts Price Target on Gilead Sciences
• Positive Sentiment: Gilead and Kite plan 23 presentations, including seven oral presentations, at the December ASH meeting. The breadth of upcoming blood-cancer data could support investor expectations for the pipeline, though the data have yet to be presented. Gilead and Kite Advance Leadership With New Data
• Positive Sentiment: A new global Phase 3 collaboration with BioNTech will test a combination treatment for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, extending Gilead’s oncology opportunity. Trial outcomes remain uncertain. BioNTech Enters First Global Phase 3 Trial
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage also points to Gilead’s long-running dividend growth and HIV-driven free cash flow, which may reassure income investors; the company has raised its dividend for 11 consecutive years. Gilead Sciences Has Raised Its Dividend for 11 Straight Years
• Negative Sentiment: Management’s larger projected GAAP loss, attributed to sizeable acquired R&D charges, could weigh on reported earnings even as product sales guidance improves. Did Earnings Beat Just Shift Gilead Sciences’ Investment Narrative?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $184.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Leerink Partners lowered Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $146.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.15.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.0%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $152.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.52. The stock has a market cap of $218.59 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.55 and a beta of 0.35.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.36. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 1.85% and a negative net margin of 12.47%. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -1.07 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently -103.80%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.62, for a total transaction of $2,675,160.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,894 shares in the company, valued at $1,916,306.28. This represents a 58.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.22, for a total value of $468,660.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 161,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,166,417.12. This trade represents a 1.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 126,881 shares of company stock worth $19,252,455 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PFS Partners LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 101.1% during the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 191 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 85.5% during the third quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 217 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. The company is best known for its HIV treatments, including Biktarvy, Descovy, Genvoya and Truvada, as well as therapies for chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Its portfolio also includes Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral treatment for COVID-19.

Gilead has expanded into oncology and cell therapy through products such as Trodelvy and the CAR T-cell therapies Yescarta and Tecartus, which are developed and marketed through its Kite subsidiary.