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

Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-seven analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have issued a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $110.55.

Several research firms have weighed in on GILD. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of GILD stock opened at $112.46 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $105.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 303.95, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.29. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $62.69 and a fifty-two week high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.04. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. The company had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.32) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is presently 66.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total transaction of $266,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 168,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,893,713.60. The trade was a 1.46% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.42, for a total value of $1,104,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 620,268 shares in the company, valued at $68,489,992.56. This represents a 1.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 60,929 shares of company stock valued at $6,748,980. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the first quarter worth $25,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2,837.5% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the first quarter worth $29,000. Colonial Trust Advisors raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 304.3% during the first quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Core Alternative Capital raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 370.8% during the first quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.