Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price target raised by Truist Financial from $83.00 to $97.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

GILD has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $91.50.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of GILD opened at $97.03 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $85.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Gilead Sciences has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $98.90. The company has a market cap of $120.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,078.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.17.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.01 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. Gilead Sciences’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3,422.22%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total transaction of $2,341,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,599 shares in the company, valued at $9,113,308.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total value of $2,341,485.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 99,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,113,308.50. 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,545,480.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,947 shares of company stock valued at $4,968,674. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GILD. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 198.3% during the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 101.9% during the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 51.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.