JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Price

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price target increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $120.00 to $130.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

GILD has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $111.16 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 300.43, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.58. Gilead Sciences has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $119.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. Equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 854.05%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 111 Capital purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $995,000. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $554,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 4,862 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 1,332 shares during the period. Anchor Pointe Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $245,000. Finally, Fluent Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,693,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently 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.