Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $143.00 to $153.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.13.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ GILD traded down $0.18 on Friday, reaching $125.02. The company had a trading volume of 6,599,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,965,889. The business has a 50 day moving average of $117.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $112.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $155.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.90, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $86.08 and a fifty-two week high of $127.68.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $7.42 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 50.99% and a net margin of 21.86%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. Analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 48.99%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.57, for a total value of $340,710.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 113,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,855,329.01. This represents a 2.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.08, for a total value of $295,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 157,055 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,545,054.40. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 94,646 shares of company stock worth $11,311,286. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 303,062 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $33,640,000 after acquiring an additional 20,975 shares during the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. now owns 74,476 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,267,000 after buying an additional 6,928 shares in the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.3% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 453,585 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $50,348,000 after acquiring an additional 5,616 shares during the last quarter. Credit Agricole S A purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $78,491,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 1,815,811 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $201,556,000 after acquiring an additional 51,188 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines in the areas of unmet medical need in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy, Odefsey, Truvada, Complera/ Eviplera, Stribild, Sunlencs, and Atripla products for the treatment of HIV/AIDS; Veklury, an injection for intravenous use, for the treatment of COVID-19; and Epclusa, Harvoni, Vemlidy, and Viread for the treatment of viral hepatitis.