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

Key Points

• Gilead Sciences has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from 27 brokerages, with18 buy ratings, six hold ratings, and three strong buy ratings. The average 12-month target price is $115.39.
• Insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company, reducing her position by 19.70%, while director Jeffrey Bluestone also sold 5,000 shares, reflecting a significant decrease in their ownership of Gilead stock.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, scheduled for payment on September 29th, which represents an annualized yield of 2.8%.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $115.3913.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GILD shares. Truist Financial upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Gilead Sciences to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th.

Insider Activity

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $3,318,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 114,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,532,333.04. The trade was a 19.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.74, for a total transaction of $548,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $978,880.80. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,500 shares of company stock valued at $8,765,395 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2,837.5% during the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7,566.7% during the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 230 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $112.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Gilead Sciences has a 1 year low of $81.83 and a 1 year high of $121.83. The company has a market capitalization of $139.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $114.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $110.06.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.05. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 50.99% and a net margin of 21.86%.The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. The company's quarterly 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is presently 62.95%.

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.

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