Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twenty-three have given a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $133.16.

Several research firms recently issued reports on GILD. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $143.00 to $153.00 in a report on Monday, November 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st.

Insider Activity

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $366,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 153,503 shares in the company, valued at $18,727,366. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.86, for a total value of $3,524,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 107,193 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,310.98. The trade was a 20.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 136,757 shares of company stock worth $16,951,612. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GILD. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $215,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 38.8% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 622 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 16.8% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares during the period. Finally, My Legacy Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $360,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $124.91 on Monday. Gilead Sciences has a 1 year low of $91.68 and a 1 year high of $128.70. The company has a market cap of $154.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $123.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.11.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.42 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.86% and a net margin of 27.88%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.99%.

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.