Gilead Sciences’ (GILD) Buy Rating Reaffirmed at Bank of America

Bank of America reiterated their buy rating on shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $109.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.43.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $92.38 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.17. The stock has a market cap of $115.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,026.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $98.90.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 4.37 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 3,422.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total value of $167,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 100,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,398,843.87. This trade represents a 1.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total value of $23,064,310.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 138,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,886,126.44. This trade represents a 64.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 447,234 shares of company stock worth $41,288,086 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lantz Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 24,920 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,710,000 after purchasing an additional 840 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 13.1% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 286,116 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $19,630,000 after purchasing an additional 33,162 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $432,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth $566,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 26,526 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,826,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

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.