Gilead Sciences Q1 Earnings Forecast Cut by Zacks Research

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q1 2028 earnings estimates for shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, October 1st. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the biopharmaceutical company will earn $2.14 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.15. Zacks Research currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Gilead Sciences’ current full-year earnings is ($0.48) per share.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. HSBC lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Leerink Partners cut shares of Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $146.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.78.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $144.63 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.49. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $112.41 and a 12 month high of $157.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $179.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -54.17 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $15,393,785,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at $1,316,606,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at $918,387,000. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at $517,808,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $448,021,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total value of $725,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,459,771.32. This represents a 33.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.22, for a total value of $432,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 116,684 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,828,166.48. The trade was a 2.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 105,000 shares of company stock worth $14,940,540. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently -122.85%.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc (NASDAQ: GILD) is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. Its research and commercial activities focus primarily on virology, including HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, as well as oncology, inflammation and other areas of significant unmet medical need.

Gilead’s portfolio includes HIV treatments such as Biktarvy, Descovy, Genvoya and Sunlenca; hepatitis therapies including Epclusa, Harvoni and Vemlidy; and Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral used to treat COVID-19 in certain patients.