Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday.

GILD has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $143.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Daiwa Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.54.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of GILD stock opened at $124.16 on Friday. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $88.57 and a fifty-two week high of $128.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $122.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $116.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $154.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.42 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 27.88% and a return on equity of 51.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. Research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.99%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.86, for a total transaction of $3,524,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 107,193 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,310.98. This represents a 20.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $1,265,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 571,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,280,027.62. The trade was a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 136,257 shares of company stock worth $16,723,492. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7,566.7% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 230 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2,837.5% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth $30,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.