Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Rating Upgraded by Leerink Partnrs

Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on GILD. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.85.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $88.78 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $81.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.17. The company has a market cap of $110.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 246.61, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $89.21.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $6.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 29.34%. Sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 855.56%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 100,189 shares in the company, valued at $8,398,843.87. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Gilead Sciences 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 directly owns 100,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,398,843.87. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $2,459,529.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,847 shares of company stock worth $3,033,340 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 198.3% during the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 51.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is 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.