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

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 23,410,000 shares, a growth of 29.6% from the November 15th total of 18,060,000 shares. Currently, 1.9% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,840,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total value of $23,064,310.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 138,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,886,126.44. The trade was a 64.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 80,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,427,227.92. This trade represents a 67.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 447,234 shares of company stock valued at $41,288,086 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Exome Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,192,000. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth about $242,000. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth about $221,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 22.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,241,354 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $190,611,000 after purchasing an additional 416,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tri Ri Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,380,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $91.86. The stock had a trading volume of 7,515,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,068,425. The stock's 50 day moving average is $89.96 and its 200 day moving average is $79.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.48 billion, a PE ratio of 1,020.61, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $98.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.01 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The company's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.29 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3,422.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GILD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised Gilead Sciences from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.43.

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.

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