The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price target upped by The Goldman Sachs Group from $74.00 to $84.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $91.50.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD traded down $1.34 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $96.57. The company had a trading volume of 7,457,030 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,289,753. The stock has a market cap of $120.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,072.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Gilead Sciences has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $98.32. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.09.

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 company had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.01 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 28.60% and a net margin of 0.45%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 3.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 3,422.22%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total value of $2,459,529.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 99,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,113,308.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 62,437 shares of company stock valued at $5,374,825 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the first quarter worth $462,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 31.8% in the first quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 112,743 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $8,258,000 after buying an additional 27,211 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the first quarter worth about $573,000. AIA Group Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,684,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 51.2% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 154,992 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $11,353,000 after acquiring an additional 52,494 shares during the period. 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.