Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Short Interest Update

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,930,000 shares, a decline of 8.9% from the January 15th total of 25,170,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 7,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ:GILD traded down $1.88 on Monday, reaching $104.08. 6,399,538 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,866,207. The firm 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. The business has a fifty day moving average of $93.87 and a 200-day moving average of $87.70. Gilead Sciences has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $106.69. 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 (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 expect that Gilead Sciences will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3,422.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $815,198.80. This represents a 43.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total value of $23,064,310.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 138,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,886,126.44. The trade was a 64.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 710,500 shares of company stock valued at $67,684,956 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Redwood Financial Network Corp increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 2,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $234,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 3,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on GILD. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.33.

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.