Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $117.16 and last traded at $117.01, with a volume of 1457128 shares. The stock had previously closed at $114.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on GILD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.24.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $143.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 312.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.74.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 854.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.96, for a total value of $781,660.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 132,373 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,173,021.08. This trade represents a 6.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 293,356 shares of company stock valued at $29,166,240 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 325.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 340 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.