Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Price Down 3% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) fell 3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $107.04 and last traded at $106.93. 1,893,791 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 6,677,408 shares. The stock had previously closed at $110.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $131.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 286.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.56.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. On average, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 854.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total transaction of $13,822,739.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,626,253.06. The trade was a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250. 0.29% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GILD. 111 Capital purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $995,000. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $554,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 37.7% during the 4th quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 4,862 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 1,332 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $245,000. Finally, Fluent Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $2,693,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.