Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $127.96 and last traded at $127.21, with a volume of 854022 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $127.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.13.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $157.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.24, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.19.

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

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 107,193 shares in the company, valued at $13,491,310.98. This represents a 20.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Deborah H. Telman sold 53,646 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.85, for a total value of $6,590,411.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,676 shares in the company, valued at $5,365,596.60. This trade represents a 55.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 125,146 shares of company stock valued at $15,148,441. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth $2,150,268,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 314.6% in 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 buying an additional 11,156,382 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the first quarter worth $620,415,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 397.6% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,748,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $748,147,000 after buying an additional 5,392,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,521,228 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,499,098,000 after acquiring an additional 3,394,330 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.