Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $127.96 and last traded at $127.21, with a volume of 854022 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $127.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GILD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Scotiabank started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.13.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.4%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $117.84 and a 200 day moving average of $113.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $157.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.24, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 50.99% and a net margin of 21.86%.The firm had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 48.99%.

Insider Activity

In other Gilead Sciences news, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.39, for a total transaction of $1,193,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 581,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,389,826.17. This trade represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deborah H. Telman sold 53,646 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.85, for a total value of $6,590,411.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,676 shares in the company, valued at $5,365,596.60. The trade was a 55.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 125,146 shares of company stock valued at $15,148,441. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth $2,150,268,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 314.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,703,103 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,647,484,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,382 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at $620,415,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 397.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,748,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $748,147,000 after purchasing an additional 5,392,191 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,521,228 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,499,098,000 after purchasing an additional 3,394,330 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.