Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Has Average Price Target of $158.78 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate Gilead Sciences a “Moderate Buy”: Of 29 analysts, 23 recommend buying, five rate it a hold, and one rates it a strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $158.78, above the reported share price of $150.93.
• Gilead’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with adjusted EPS of negative $6.75 versus estimates of negative $7.25 and revenue of $7.80 billion versus $7.40 billion expected. Revenue increased 10.6% year over year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, equivalent to an annualized $3.28 payout and a 2.2% yield. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the stock, while insiders sold 105,000 shares worth $14.6 million during the last quarter.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $158.78.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GILD. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Gilead Sciences from $157.00 to $156.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Daniel O'Day sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.64, for a total transaction of $2,229,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 577,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,785,049.12. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.29, for a total transaction of $435,870.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 164,096 shares in the company, valued at $23,841,507.84. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 105,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,616,390 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $15,393,785,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 61,216,552 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $7,734,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,967 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $2,617,152,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,584,341 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,912,822,000 after purchasing an additional 444,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 10.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 10,539,111 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,468,836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018,976 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $150.93 on Friday. Gilead Sciences has a one year low of $108.46 and a one year high of $157.29. The stock's fifty day moving average is $141.81 and its 200-day moving average is $136.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -56.53 and a beta of 0.33.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. Gilead Sciences's revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post -0.48 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -122.85%.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. The company's research focuses primarily on virology, oncology, inflammation and related areas, with products serving patients in the United States and international markets.

Gilead is best known for its HIV treatments, including Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy and other antiretroviral therapies. Its portfolio also includes medicines for viral hepatitis, such as Epclusa and Vemlidy, and Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral treatment for COVID-19.

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