Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Upgraded by Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft to Buy Rating

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft currently has $120.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $80.00.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.08.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ GILD opened at $110.03 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $110.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $137.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 297.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 7.94 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 832.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $815,198.80. The trade was a 43.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,863,898.55. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 713,000 shares of company stock valued at $67,945,181. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redwood Financial Network Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 2,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $782,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Asset Management LLC VA increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.8% in the third quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 3,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.