Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $106.80 and last traded at $106.27, with a volume of 328148 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $105.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.08.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.1 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $95.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.03 billion, a PE ratio of 297.16, a PEG ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.94 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 832.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 80,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,427,227.92. This trade represents a 67.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total transaction of $228,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $11,863,898.55. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 713,000 shares of company stock worth $67,945,181 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,171,691 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,044,795,000 after acquiring an additional 841,776 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,724,306,000 after purchasing an additional 7,157,113 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,659,007 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,293,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,331 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,289,917 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,608,337,000 after buying an additional 749,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,789,254,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.