Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Upgraded by Royal Bank Of Canada to “Moderate Buy” Rating

Royal Bank Of Canada upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) from a hold rating to a moderate buy rating in a report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group cut their price target on Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Twenty-six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.93.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 2.5%

GILD stock opened at $131.10 on Monday. Gilead Sciences has a 1-year low of $104.46 and a 1-year high of $157.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $135.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86 and a beta of 0.31.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.12. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 48.19% and a net margin of 30.99%.The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050–0.650 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 44.69%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.16, for a total value of $1,291,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,702,353.72. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.27, for a total value of $396,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 173,191 shares in the company, valued at $22,907,973.57. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 53,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,075,670 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $2,617,152,000. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $517,808,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 3,763.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,223,304 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $518,368,000 after purchasing an additional 4,113,999 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 23,121,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,837,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,046,688 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,097,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $14,863,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113,692 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Gilead Sciences

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.