Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Price Target Cut to $86.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD – Get Rating) had its target price cut by Royal Bank of Canada from $87.00 to $86.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on GILD. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 9th. Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. SVB Leerink upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $81.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $88.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $89.40.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.0 %

NASDAQ GILD opened at $81.11 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $101.15 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day moving average of $84.33 and a 200 day moving average of $77.61. Gilead Sciences has a 1 year low of $57.17 and a 1 year high of $89.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.63 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 16.83% and a return on equity of 44.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.73. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 80.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 12,984 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.96, for a total value of $1,038,200.64. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 70,130 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,607,594.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GILD. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 179.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 414 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Horan Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 217.9% during the 3rd quarter. Horan Securities Inc. now owns 461 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 4,246 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Bridge LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

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Gilead Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company, which engages in the research, development, and commercialization of medicines in areas of unmet medical need. The firm’s primary areas of focus include human immunodeficiency virus, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, liver diseases, hematology, oncology, and inflammation and respiratory diseases.