Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Hits New 1-Year High on Earnings Beat

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $104.71 and last traded at $104.30, with a volume of 4103937 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $96.14.

The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3,422.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.04.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total value of $15,094,275.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 80,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,427,227.92. This represents a 67.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $815,198.80. This trade represents a 43.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 572,824 shares of company stock valued at $53,611,715 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 101.9% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 7.5 %

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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $93.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $87.12. The firm has a market cap of $128.75 billion, a PE ratio of 1,147.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18.

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.