Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Price Target Raised to $96.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price target lifted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $85.00 to $96.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.33.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $104.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.71 billion, a PE ratio of 1,156.44, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $93.63 and its 200-day moving average is $87.37. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $106.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. Equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 854.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 137,676 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.22, for a total transaction of $14,073,240.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 171,223 shares in the company, valued at $17,502,415.06. This trade represents a 44.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $815,198.80. This represents a 43.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 710,500 shares of company stock worth $67,684,956 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bellevue Group AG boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 46,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,859,000 after buying an additional 7,093 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 149.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 81,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 48,910 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 25,372 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,344,000 after purchasing an additional 3,627 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $830,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 387,492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,793,000 after purchasing an additional 9,791 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.