JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price target hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $120.00 to $130.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on GILD. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD opened at $111.16 on Thursday. Gilead Sciences has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $119.96. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $138.43 billion, a PE ratio of 300.43, 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 quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50.

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

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 854.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total transaction of $13,822,739.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $12,626,253.06. This represents a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock worth $30,503,250 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redwood Financial Network Corp grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 2,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Southland Equity Partners LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Bank boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Finally, CFO4Life Group LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 4,265 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is 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.