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

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on GILD. Mizuho increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $151.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $133.52.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $135.93 on Friday. Gilead Sciences has a twelve month low of $92.26 and a twelve month high of $136.30. The company has a market capitalization of $168.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $123.98 and a 200 day moving average of $118.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. The business 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.08, for a total value of $625,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,115,713.60. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.39, for a total value of $1,193,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 581,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,389,826.17. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 141,757 shares of company stock valued at $17,569,112. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GILD. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7,566.7% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 230 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 85.8% in the 4th quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 236 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, BOCHK Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 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.