Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) PT Lowered to $78.00 at Morgan Stanley

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price target trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $78.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on GILD. StockNews.com lowered shares of Gilead Sciences from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $81.00 to $75.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a reduce rating to a hold rating and set a $69.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $83.87.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $65.42 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.25. The stock has a market cap of $81.45 billion, a PE ratio of 181.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $64.63 and a 12 month high of $87.86.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.49) by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.36 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 23.08% and a net margin of 1.76%. The company’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 855.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total value of $145,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,304 shares in the company, valued at $7,026,339.84. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nilsine Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 11,894 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $891,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 18,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 8,862 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,607 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Institutional & Family Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Institutional & Family Asset Management LLC now owns 1,501 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 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.