Royal Bank of Canada Boosts Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Price Target to $90.00

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its target price upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $84.00 to $90.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on GILD. Maxim Group downgraded Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.33.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 7.5 %

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $103.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.12. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $104.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.75 billion, a PE ratio of 1,147.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18.

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 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. Sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3,422.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total value of $15,094,275.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 80,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,427,227.92. The trade was a 67.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 138,919 shares in the company, valued at $12,886,126.44. This trade represents a 64.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 572,824 shares of company stock valued at $53,611,715. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $322,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $782,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 3,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

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.