Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Given New $120.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $105.00 to $120.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on GILD. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Leerink Partners upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.33.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 7.5 %

Shares of GILD stock opened at $103.31 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $93.14 and a 200-day moving average of $87.12. The firm has a market cap of $128.75 billion, a PE ratio of 1,147.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $104.71.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. On average, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 3,422.22%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total value of $23,064,310.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 138,919 shares in the company, valued at $12,886,126.44. This represents a 64.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total value of $15,094,275.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 80,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,427,227.92. This represents a 67.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 572,824 shares of company stock worth $53,611,715 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $1,789,254,000. FMR LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 79.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,162,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,780,329,000 after acquiring an additional 14,680,161 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 50.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,900,921,000 after acquiring an additional 11,665,593 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 723.3% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,434,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $594,370,000 after purchasing an additional 5,653,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $207,340,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

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.