Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Price Target Raised to $74.00

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price target boosted by Royal Bank of Canada from $72.00 to $74.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a sector perform rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on GILD. Robert W. Baird reissued a neutral rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Raymond James raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $93.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Gilead Sciences to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a neutral rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $82.06.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.1 %

GILD stock opened at $78.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $98.07 billion, a PE ratio of 218.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $87.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $74.06 and its 200 day moving average is $70.56.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $6.95 billion for 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 855.56%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total value of $406,150.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 114,979 shares in the company, valued at $8,506,146.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total value of $406,150.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 114,979 shares in the company, valued at $8,506,146.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $137,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 96,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,614,559.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth approximately $25,328,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 23.6% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 317,539 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,724,000 after acquiring an additional 60,697 shares in the last quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. ARGA Investment Management LP now owns 635,058 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $51,446,000 after purchasing an additional 37,069 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the first quarter valued at approximately $462,000. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 751.1% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 127,258 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,322,000 after purchasing an additional 112,305 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

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.