Bank of America Boosts Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Price Target to $126.00

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price objective lifted by Bank of America from $116.00 to $126.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Daiwa America raised Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.24.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $115.44 on Wednesday. Gilead Sciences has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $117.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 312.00, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. As a group, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 854.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total transaction of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 293,356 shares of company stock valued at $29,166,240. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.