Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 25,660,000 shares, an increase of 16.7% from the December 15th total of 21,980,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $97.96.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ:GILD traded up $0.19 on Friday, reaching $91.84. The stock had a trading volume of 6,852,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,370,915. The company has a 50-day moving average of $91.75 and a 200 day moving average of $84.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $114.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,020.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $98.90.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. The firm had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3,422.22%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total transaction of $23,064,310.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 138,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,886,126.44. This represents a 64.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 80,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,427,227.92. The trade was a 67.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 456,234 shares of company stock valued at $42,130,461 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 51.6% in the 2nd quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 160 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.