Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $124.62 and last traded at $124.5190, with a volume of 1510654 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $122.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Dbs Bank raised Gilead Sciences to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $133.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.27.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $116.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $112.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $153.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.42 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 50.99% and a net margin of 21.86%.The company’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 48.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $3,318,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 114,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,532,333.04. The trade was a 19.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.66, for a total value of $1,116,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 591,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,013,726.98. This represents a 1.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 71,500 shares of company stock valued at $8,336,040 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth approximately $2,150,268,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 314.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,703,103 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,647,484,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,382 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter worth approximately $620,415,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 397.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,748,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $748,147,000 after purchasing an additional 5,392,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,521,228 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,499,098,000 after purchasing an additional 3,394,330 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

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.