Gilead Sciences' (GILD) Overweight Rating Reaffirmed at Cantor Fitzgerald

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its “overweight” rating on Gilead Sciences and set a $155 price target, implying 5.55% potential upside. The consensus rating remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $159.15.
• Gilead shares opened at $146.85 after rising 1.8%; the company recently beat quarterly revenue and EPS expectations, reporting $7.8 billion in revenue versus the $7.4 billion consensus estimate.
• Institutional investors own 83.67% of Gilead, while insiders sold 105,000 shares worth approximately $14.9 million over the past quarter.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reiterated by Cantor Fitzgerald in a research note issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $155.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Cantor Fitzgerald's target price points to a potential upside of 5.55% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on GILD. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $165.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $159.15.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $146.85 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $182.09 billion, a PE ratio of -55.00 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The company's fifty day moving average price is $144.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.55. Gilead Sciences has a 52-week low of $114.02 and a 52-week high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post -0.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CEO Daniel O'Day sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.64, for a total transaction of $2,229,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 577,133 shares in the company, valued at $85,785,049.12. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total transaction of $725,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,459,771.32. The trade was a 33.19% 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 have sold 105,000 shares of company stock worth $14,940,540 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,393,785,000. State Street Corp lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 61,216,552 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $7,734,099,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,967 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,584,341 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,912,822,000 after purchasing an additional 444,660 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 10,539,111 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,468,836,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018,976 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,316,606,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Gilead Sciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their outlook: JPMorgan increased its price target from $160 to $170 and maintained an “overweight” rating, while Truist raised its target from $150 to $158 and reiterated a “buy” rating. These revisions suggest analysts see additional upside for GILD.
• Positive Sentiment: Five-year Cognizant agreement: Gilead signed a long-term DevOps services agreement with Cognizant. The partnership is intended to combine life-sciences expertise with technology services to improve Gilead’s processes and operational capabilities. The agreement may support efficiency, although its direct financial impact was not disclosed. Gilead Sciences signs five-year DevOps agreement with Cognizant
• Neutral Sentiment: Nurix collaboration extended: Nurix Therapeutics extended the research term for an oncology program under its Gilead partnership by two years. The extension indicates ongoing research activity and could lead to future milestone payments and royalties for Nurix, but the immediate effect on Gilead’s valuation is limited. Is Extending the Gilead E3 Ligase Collaboration Altering The Investment Case For Nurix Therapeutics
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation caution: A Seeking Alpha analysis argued that Gilead’s pursuit of growth carries significant costs and may constrain the value implied by discounted-cash-flow analysis. The concern could temper enthusiasm despite the broader analyst optimism. Gilead: Buying Growth Isn't Free, And The Discounted Cash Flow Model Knows It
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed target changes: Morgan Stanley lowered its price target from $165 to $163, although it retained an “overweight” rating. The modest reduction signals some caution regarding near-term upside.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc NASDAQ: GILD is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. Its research and commercial activities focus primarily on virology, including HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, as well as oncology, inflammation and other areas of significant unmet medical need.

Gilead's portfolio includes HIV treatments such as Biktarvy, Descovy, Genvoya and Sunlenca; hepatitis therapies including Epclusa, Harvoni and Vemlidy; and Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral used to treat COVID-19 in certain patients.