Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Price Target Raised to $115.00

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price objective hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $110.00 to $115.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

GILD has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.33.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ GILD opened at $104.08 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $93.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.37. The company has a market cap of $129.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,156.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $106.69.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 854.05%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total value of $15,094,275.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 80,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,427,227.92. The trade was a 67.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 710,500 shares of company stock valued at $67,684,956 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 3,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

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.