Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.86.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD traded down $2.47 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $89.64. 3,844,468 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,068,160. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $86.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.81. The stock has a market cap of $111.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,007.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.17. Gilead Sciences has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $98.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.01 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 3,422.22%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total value of $2,459,529.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. This represents a 27.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total value of $2,341,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 99,599 shares in the company, valued at $9,113,308.50. The trade was a 20.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,947 shares of company stock valued at $4,968,674. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 198.3% during the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Cedar Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 51.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.