Wall Street Zen Upgrades Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) to “Strong-Buy”

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $147.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $140.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $135.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.68.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ GILD opened at $121.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $123.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.17. Gilead Sciences has a 1 year low of $88.57 and a 1 year high of $128.70. The company has a market cap of $150.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 0.33.

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. The company had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.42 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.86% and a net margin of 27.88%.The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total value of $366,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 153,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,727,366. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.39, for a total value of $1,193,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 581,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,389,826.17. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 136,257 shares of company stock valued at $16,855,192. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $215,000. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 7,893 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $884,000 after buying an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 27,069 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,033,000 after buying an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 94,586 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $10,598,000 after buying an additional 2,933 shares during 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.