Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Now Covered by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) in a report released on Tuesday. The firm issued a buy rating and a $180.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Leerink Partners upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $157.62.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD stock opened at $146.63 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $138.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.06. The company has a market capitalization of $182.03 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Gilead Sciences has a 12-month low of $93.37 and a 12-month high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.03. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 28.90%.The firm had revenue of $7.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.450-8.850 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.68%.

Insider Activity

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $617,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 8,920 shares in the company, valued at $1,101,620. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.79, for a total value of $1,447,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 642,308 shares in the company, valued at $92,999,775.32. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 309,280 shares of company stock worth $43,935,470 in the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after buying an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at $215,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1,241.2% in the second quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 1,266 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.