Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

by · The Markets Daily

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD – Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on GILD. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Leerink Partners cut shares of Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $146.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Zacks Research raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.78.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $150.11 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $139.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market cap of $186.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -56.22 and a beta of 0.33. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $108.46 and a 12 month high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. Research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post -0.48 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is -122.85%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CEO Daniel O’Day sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.64, for a total transaction of $2,229,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 577,133 shares in the company, valued at $85,785,049.12. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.29, for a total transaction of $435,870.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 164,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,841,507.84. The trade was a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 105,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,616,390 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GILD. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth about $63,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 843.7% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 2,831 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $358,000 after acquiring an additional 2,531 shares during the last quarter. Bullseye Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $2,085,000. Talon Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Gilead Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. The company’s research focuses primarily on virology, oncology, inflammation and related areas, with products serving patients in the United States and international markets.

Gilead is best known for its HIV treatments, including Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy and other antiretroviral therapies. Its portfolio also includes medicines for viral hepatitis, such as Epclusa and Vemlidy, and Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral treatment for COVID-19.

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