Wall Street Zen Downgrades Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) to Buy

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. HSBC raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Citigroup upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Finally, Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $133.52.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Gilead Sciences stock traded up $4.79 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $135.93. 13,178,890 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,442,228. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.45. Gilead Sciences has a one year low of $92.26 and a one year high of $136.30. The stock has a market cap of $168.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $123.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.62.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.31. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 27.88% and a return on equity of 51.86%. The firm had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $617,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,101,620. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.31, for a total transaction of $372,930.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 103,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,831,402.51. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 141,757 shares of company stock worth $17,569,112 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GILD. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7,566.7% during the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 230 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Corundum Trust Company INC purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Financial Consulate Inc. lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 85.8% in the 4th quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 236 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 53.4% during the 2nd quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. 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.