Piper Sandler Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its target price hoisted by Piper Sandler from $105.00 to $110.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.33.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 1.8 %

GILD stock opened at $104.08 on Wednesday. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $106.69. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $93.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $129.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,156.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. As a group, analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 854.05%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total value of $620,355.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,920 shares in the company, valued at $815,198.80. The trade was a 43.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 137,676 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.22, for a total value of $14,073,240.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 171,223 shares in the company, valued at $17,502,415.06. The trade was a 44.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 710,500 shares of company stock worth $67,684,956. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GILD. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 14.7% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 400,819 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,645,000 after acquiring an additional 51,390 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7.7% in the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,615 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $303,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the third quarter worth about $213,000. CX Institutional increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 34.2% in the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 60,987 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,113,000 after purchasing an additional 15,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.8% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 20,526 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,721,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.