Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Price Target Raised to $80.00

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price objective upped by Cantor Fitzgerald from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on GILD. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $78.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $74.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $91.50.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Gilead Sciences stock traded down $1.34 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $96.57. 7,457,030 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,289,753. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,072.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.17. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $98.32. The business’s 50-day moving average is $85.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.03.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.01 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 28.60%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 3.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 3,422.22%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total transaction of $167,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 100,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,398,843.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total value of $2,459,529.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total transaction of $167,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 100,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,398,843.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 62,437 shares of company stock valued at $5,374,825 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 7.4% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,137,381 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $95,358,000 after acquiring an additional 78,839 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 38.2% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 764,520 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $64,097,000 after acquiring an additional 211,493 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 68,400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,735,000 after buying an additional 3,900 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 6,321 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $530,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 9,060 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $760,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

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.