Analysts Set Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Target Price at $131.54

Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $131.5417.

GILD has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, October 31st.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $1,265,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 571,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,280,027.62. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.08, for a total transaction of $625,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,115,713.60. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 136,257 shares of company stock valued at $16,723,492. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth $215,000. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter valued at $2,677,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter valued at $12,890,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 12.3% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 4,700 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.8%

GILD opened at $124.70 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $122.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $116.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Gilead Sciences has a twelve month low of $88.57 and a twelve month high of $128.70. The stock has a market cap of $154.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.86% and a net margin of 27.88%.The business had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 48.99%.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.