Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Price Target Lowered to $78.00 at Morgan Stanley

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $78.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on GILD. Barclays decreased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 12th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Gilead Sciences from $76.00 to $74.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a hold rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $83.87.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.2 %

GILD opened at $65.42 on Friday. Gilead Sciences has a 1-year low of $64.63 and a 1-year high of $87.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $81.45 billion, a PE ratio of 181.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.19.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.49) by $0.17. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 1.76%. The business had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 855.56%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total value of $145,920.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,304 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,026,339.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Conning Inc. raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 19.9% during the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 515,741 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $37,704,000 after acquiring an additional 85,645 shares during the last quarter. Harrington Investments INC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.9% during the first quarter. Harrington Investments INC now owns 21,867 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.2% during the first quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 33,805 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,476,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the first quarter worth about $517,000. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 54.7% during the first quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 20,509 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,502,000 after acquiring an additional 7,249 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.