Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Downgraded by Leerink Partners to “Market Perform”

Leerink Partners cut shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $127.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, down from their prior price target of $146.00.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on GILD. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Monday, July 6th. HSBC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Twenty-five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.33.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $130.28 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.42. The firm has a market cap of $161.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences has a 12-month low of $108.06 and a 12-month high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.91 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 30.99% and a return on equity of 48.19%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050–0.650 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post -0.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 44.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.40, for a total transaction of $376,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 171,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,524,408.40. The trade was a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.29, for a total value of $1,894,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 607,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,674,826.57. This trade represents a 2.41% 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. Insiders have sold 77,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,978,740 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 20.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $215,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 16.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 118,695 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,160,000 after purchasing an additional 12,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 18.6% in 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. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

About Gilead Sciences

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.