Zacks Research Weighs in on Gilead Sciences, Inc.’s Q1 2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:GILD)

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2024 EPS estimates for Gilead Sciences in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, April 23rd. Zacks Research analyst E. Bagri now expects that the biopharmaceutical company will post earnings of ($1.42) per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.38. The consensus estimate for Gilead Sciences’ current full-year earnings is $4.20 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Gilead Sciences’ Q3 2024 earnings at $1.84 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $1.87 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $3.69 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $1.56 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.61 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $7.24 EPS.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.49) by $0.17. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 38.85%. The business had revenue of $6.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis.

GILD has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $78.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut shares of Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. HSBC raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $69.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $76.00 to $74.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $81.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.87.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $65.42 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.25. Gilead Sciences has a 1-year low of $64.63 and a 1-year high of $87.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $81.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.19.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.71%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.44%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total value of $145,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,026,339.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 83,364,123 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,753,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,642,736 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 59,657,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $4,832,824,000 after acquiring an additional 1,743,418 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,630,134 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,509,227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,550 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,909,619 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,267,207,000 after acquiring an additional 158,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $1,301,624,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.