Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, UBS Group Analyst Says

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $145.00 to $155.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 12.32% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Gilead Sciences from $151.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Monday, December 15th. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.52.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD traded up $2.07 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $138.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,102,575 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,152,059. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $93.10 and a 12 month high of $137.99. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $123.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.71. The stock has a market cap of $171.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.33.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.86% and a net margin of 27.88%.The company had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In related news, Director Kelly A. Kramer sold 2,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.10, for a total transaction of $356,515.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,339 shares in the company, valued at $170,186.90. The trade was a 67.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.31, for a total value of $372,930.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 103,221 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,831,402.51. This trade represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 141,757 shares of company stock valued at $17,569,112. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,364,226 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,233,912,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893,401 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,207,662 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,231,548,000 after acquiring an additional 727,515 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,150,268,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 12.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,139,681 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,680,505,000 after buying an additional 1,618,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,467,411 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,167,221,000 after buying an additional 1,614,355 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.