Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 25,660,000 shares, a growth of 16.7% from the December 15th total of 21,980,000 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ GILD traded up $0.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $91.84. 6,852,085 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,370,915. Gilead Sciences has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $98.90. The company has a market cap of $114.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,020.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.18. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $91.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 4.36 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3,422.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total transaction of $23,064,310.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 138,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,886,126.44. This represents a 64.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total value of $2,341,485.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,599 shares in the company, valued at $9,113,308.50. The trade was a 20.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 456,234 shares of company stock worth $42,130,461. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bellevue Group AG raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 18.2% in the third quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 46,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,859,000 after acquiring an additional 7,093 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 149.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 81,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 48,910 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,414,268 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $851,743,000 after purchasing an additional 93,068 shares during the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the third quarter worth $830,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 12.9% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 323,011 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,081,000 after purchasing an additional 36,895 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on GILD. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Daiwa America raised Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Gilead Sciences from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $87.00 to $113.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.96.

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.