Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $118.0833.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $117.18 on Friday. Gilead Sciences has a 1 year low of $84.17 and a 1 year high of $121.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $145.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $114.65 and a 200-day moving average of $110.25.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.05. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 50.99% and a net margin of 21.86%.The company had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.950-8.250 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.57, for a total transaction of $340,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 113,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,855,329.01. This trade represents a 2.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.66, for a total value of $1,116,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 591,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $66,013,726.98. This trade represents a 1.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,402,130 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. One Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 34.8% in the second quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,163 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 2,364 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 7.7% in the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 430,424 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $48,229,000 after acquiring an additional 30,630 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 14.5% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 863 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Covea Finance boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 69.5% during the second quarter. Covea Finance now owns 51,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,732,000 after buying an additional 21,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 0.8% during the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,118,632 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $237,393,000 after buying an additional 16,663 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.

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