Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $118.81 and last traded at $118.87, with a volume of 456889 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $117.41.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.52.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.50 billion, a PE ratio of 309.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $100.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 854.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total value of $260,225.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,597,559.49. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 293,356 shares of company stock valued at $29,166,240 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bellevue Group AG grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 18.2% in the 3rd 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 period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 149.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 81,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,843,000 after acquiring an additional 48,910 shares during the period. McAdam LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 25,372 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,344,000 after purchasing an additional 3,627 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 387,492 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $35,793,000 after purchasing an additional 9,791 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 142,167 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,132,000 after purchasing an additional 5,382 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

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.