Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. HSBC raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $168.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Maxim Group raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Twenty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.04.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 3.7%

NASDAQ GILD traded down $5.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $129.83. The company had a trading volume of 5,934,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,886,756. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $129.78 and its 200 day moving average is $134.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $107.75 and a fifty-two week high of $157.29. The company has a market capitalization of $161.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.12. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 48.19% and a net margin of 30.99%.The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly 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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post -0.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.40, for a total transaction of $376,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 171,646 shares in the company, valued at $21,524,408.40. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.29, for a total transaction of $1,894,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 607,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,674,826.57. This represents a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 83,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,824,500. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $215,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 16.8% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 12.0% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 118,695 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,160,000 after purchasing an additional 12,705 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 18.6% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

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.