Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Receives "Overweight" Rating from Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler restated their overweight rating on shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $95.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company's stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on GILD. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $72.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $93.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a neutral rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Monday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $82.06.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD traded down $0.50 on Wednesday, reaching $80.94. 6,144,783 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,147,585. The company has a 50-day moving average of $74.82 and a 200-day moving average of $70.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $100.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 224.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $87.86.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The firm had revenue of $6.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is presently 855.56%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $137,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,380 shares in the company, valued at $6,614,559.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total transaction of $137,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 96,380 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,614,559.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $406,150.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,506,146.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 6,791 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $550,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,473 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,313 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,024 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 141.2% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 7,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $579,000 after purchasing an additional 4,184 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 231,819 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $18,780,000 after purchasing an additional 10,577 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.