Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Lifted to “Hold” at HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) from a reduce rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $69.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial cut shares of Gilead Sciences from a buy rating to a hold rating and lowered their price target for the company from $91.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $81.00 to $75.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $83.87.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $65.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Gilead Sciences has a 1 year low of $64.63 and a 1 year high of $87.86. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $71.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.25. The stock has a market cap of $81.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 181.72, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.19.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.49) by $0.17. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.76% and a return on equity of 23.08%. The company had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.71%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 855.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total transaction of $145,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 96,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,026,339.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GILD. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 223.1% in the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 349 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.