Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $120.00 to $140.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

GILD has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $104.24.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $117.41 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $146.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 317.32, 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. Gilead Sciences has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $118.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.39.

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

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 854.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 293,356 shares of company stock worth $29,166,240 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 325.0% in the fourth 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

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.