Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Upgraded to “Hold” at HSBC

HSBC upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) from a reduce rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. HSBC currently has $69.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $81.00 to $75.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. StockNews.com cut Gilead Sciences from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays decreased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $84.57.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.1 %

GILD opened at $67.08 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $71.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.27. The stock has a market cap of $83.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.19. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $65.90 and a 12 month high of $87.86.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $7.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.10 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 38.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.59%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 68.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total transaction of $145,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,026,339.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Tompkins Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 223.1% during the third quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 349 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 83.67% of the stock is 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.