Zacks Research Research Analysts Lower Earnings Estimates for Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) – Zacks Research dropped their Q1 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Gilead Sciences in a report released on Tuesday, April 23rd. Zacks Research analyst E. Bagri now anticipates that the biopharmaceutical company will post earnings of ($1.42) per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $1.38. The consensus estimate for Gilead Sciences’ current full-year earnings is $5.24 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Gilead Sciences’ Q3 2024 earnings at $1.84 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $1.87 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $3.69 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.56 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.61 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $7.24 EPS.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.49) by $0.17. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 38.85%. The firm had revenue of $6.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. HSBC raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $69.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $81.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.57.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $65.27 on Thursday. Gilead Sciences has a 52-week low of $65.09 and a 52-week high of $87.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $71.40 and a 200-day moving average of $76.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.72%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 68.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.18, for a total value of $146,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,936 shares in the company, valued at $7,386,496.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Altfest L J & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $210,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,787,355 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $306,814,000 after purchasing an additional 175,925 shares during the last quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $74,000. Abundance Wealth Counselors bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,881,000. Finally, HTLF Bank bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $253,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

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.