Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Reaches New 12-Month Low at $65.61

Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $65.61 and last traded at $65.83, with a volume of 1858080 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $67.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. HSBC raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $69.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, April 19th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.57.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 2.7 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $71.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.98, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.04). Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 38.85% and a net margin of 20.89%. The business had revenue of $7.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.72%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.44%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total value of $145,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 96,304 shares in the company, valued at $7,026,339.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of GILD. Center For Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.2% in the first quarter. Center For Asset Management LLC now owns 17,579 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.3% during the first quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 350,363 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,664,000 after purchasing an additional 14,300 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 19.0% in the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,763 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 119.2% during the first quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,659 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $634,000 after acquiring an additional 4,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 15,211 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after buying an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.