Royal Bank of Canada Reaffirms “Sector Perform” Rating for Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD)

Royal Bank of Canada reissued their sector perform rating on shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $84.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on GILD. Daiwa America raised Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.43.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $92.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.65 and a 200-day moving average of $79.17. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $98.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $115.13 billion, a PE ratio of 1,026.44, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. The firm had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 4.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend 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 stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total transaction of $23,064,310.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 138,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,886,126.44. This trade represents a 64.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total value of $167,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 100,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,398,843.87. The trade was a 1.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 447,234 shares of company stock valued at $41,288,086 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its holdings 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 worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. TFB Advisors LLC increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% during the third quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 9,397 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $788,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 0.7% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 17,822 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,494,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, FDx Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.2% in the third quarter. FDx Advisors Inc. now owns 5,365 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $450,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.