Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.04.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $138.92 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $130.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.25 billion, a PE ratio of -52.03 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $108.46 and a fifty-two week high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The company had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently -122.85%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total value of $371,760.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 124,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,395,077.28. This represents a 2.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.40, for a total value of $376,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 171,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,524,408.40. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 51,000 shares of company stock valued at $6,568,860 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Aviva PLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 1,156,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $141,978,000 after purchasing an additional 59,782 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,418,000. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 150.3% in the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 17,147 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after buying an additional 10,296 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 106,526 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,075,000 after buying an additional 13,385 shares during the period. Finally, Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 105,740 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $12,978,000 after buying an additional 42,243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.