Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $158.0370.

A number of research firms have recently commented on GILD. Weiss Ratings cut Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total transaction of $725,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,459,771.32. This represents a 33.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.36, for a total transaction of $415,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 165,646 shares in the company, valued at $22,918,780.56. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 105,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,495,820. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $215,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 12.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 118,695 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,160,000 after purchasing an additional 12,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $150.99 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $137.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.36. Gilead Sciences has a 1-year low of $108.46 and a 1-year high of $157.29. The firm has a market cap of $187.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -56.55 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

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

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.