Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Short Interest Down 8.9% in January

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,930,000 shares, a drop of 8.9% from the January 15th total of 25,170,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 7,150,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Approximately 1.9% of the company's shares are short sold.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total transaction of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,863,898.55. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 80,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,427,227.92. The trade was a 67.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 713,000 shares of company stock valued at $67,945,181. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bellevue Group AG increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 46,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $3,859,000 after purchasing an additional 7,093 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 149.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 81,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $6,843,000 after purchasing an additional 48,910 shares in the last quarter. McAdam LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth about $830,000. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Gilead Sciences stock traded down $0.08 on Friday, hitting $109.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,724,166 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,451,340. The firm has a market cap of $137.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 297.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $95.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.38. Gilead Sciences has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $111.03.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 7.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 832.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GILD. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Eleven equities research 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, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $102.08.

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.