Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Strong Earnings

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $121.38 and last traded at $118.60, with a volume of 2883145 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $110.28.

The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.95 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 21.86% and a return on equity of 51.45%. Gilead Sciences’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.01 EPS.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on GILD shares. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $133.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.82.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $3,010,560.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 121,152 shares in the company, valued at $13,026,263.04. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.03, for a total transaction of $277,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,054,588.30. This trade represents a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,984,175. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2,837.5% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 7,566.7% in the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 230 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $148.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.33. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $110.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $107.43.

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.