DZ Bank Upgrades Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) to “Buy”

DZ Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. DZ Bank currently has $108.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

GILD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.33.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $105.96 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.26. Gilead Sciences has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $106.43. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,177.33, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. Equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 3,422.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 137,676 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.22, for a total value of $14,073,240.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 171,223 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,502,415.06. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $815,198.80. This represents a 43.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 710,500 shares of company stock worth $67,684,956. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,282,507 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $303,205,000 after buying an additional 270,576 shares during the period. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $210,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,216,798 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $112,396,000 after buying an additional 193,133 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 63.7% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 91,653 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,466,000 after buying an additional 35,657 shares during the period. Finally, Stenger Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $310,000. 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.