Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Short Interest Down 6.1% in December

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 21,980,000 shares, a decrease of 6.1% from the November 30th total of 23,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Daiwa America upgraded Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Leerink Partners upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $74.00 to $96.00 in a report on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.43.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock traded up $0.36 on Wednesday, hitting $92.37. 3,482,458 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,043,598. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $91.70 and its 200 day moving average is $82.15. The stock has a market cap of $115.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,026.33, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $98.90.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 3,422.22%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 8,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.96, for a total value of $781,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 132,373 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,173,021.08. This represents a 6.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total transaction of $2,341,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 99,599 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,113,308.50. This trade represents a 20.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 453,734 shares of company stock worth $41,902,086 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bellevue Group AG increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 46,027 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,859,000 after acquiring an additional 7,093 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 149.5% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 81,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,843,000 after buying an additional 48,910 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 0.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,414,268 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $851,743,000 after acquiring an additional 93,068 shares during the period. IRON Financial LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the third quarter worth about $830,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 323,011 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,081,000 after acquiring an additional 36,895 shares during the last quarter. 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.