Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Given New $181.00 Price Target at Truist Financial

Key Points

• Truist Financial raised Gilead Sciences’ price target from $158 to $181 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying 5.17% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable: 23 analysts rate Gilead a Buy and six rate it Hold, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target of $163.96.
• Gilead’s latest quarter exceeded expectations, with revenue rising 6.8% year over year to $8.3 billion and EPS reaching $2.55 versus the $2.19 consensus estimate; however, insiders have sold 111,000 shares over the past quarter.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by research analysts at Truist Financial from $158.00 to $181.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Truist Financial's target price would suggest a potential upside of 5.17% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC set a $175.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $163.96.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD traded up $6.50 on Friday, reaching $172.11. The stock had a trading volume of 4,513,284 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,782,397. Gilead Sciences has a 12-month low of $114.02 and a 12-month high of $175.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The business's 50-day moving average price is $150.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.55. The company has a market cap of $213.40 billion, a P/E ratio of -64.56 and a beta of 0.31.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.36. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post -0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of Gilead Sciences 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,459,771.32. This trade represents a 33.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total value of $3,853,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 118,234 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,273,727.76. This represents a 19.15% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 111,000 shares of company stock worth $15,877,860. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GILD. Integrity Alliance LLC. grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 5,080 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $757,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Integrity Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the third quarter worth $207,000. First Nebraska Trust Co acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter valued at about $567,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super now owns 135,254 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $20,160,000 after purchasing an additional 17,771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.2% in the third quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 4,175 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Gilead Sciences

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results exceeded expectations: Gilead reported third-quarter revenue of $8.3 billion, up 6.8% year over year and approximately $500 million above consensus. Non-GAAP EPS of $2.55 also surpassed estimates of roughly $2.17–$2.19. Gilead Sciences Q3 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: 2026 sales outlook was raised: Management now expects full-year product sales of approximately $31.0 billion to $31.3 billion, up from $30.1 billion to $30.4 billion, reflecting strong HIV demand and broader base-business growth. Gilead Sciences Lifts Sales Guidance on HIV Portfolio Strength
• Positive Sentiment: Growth beyond Biktarvy was encouraging: Trodelvy sales rose 41.7% year over year to $506 million, while management highlighted strong performance across its HIV portfolio. Gilead also agreed to acquire PepStar’s oral IL-23R inhibitor program for $1.275 billion upfront, supporting its future pipeline. Gilead Sciences Why I Remain Bullish After Q3
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support improved: Needham raised its price target to $200 and maintained a Buy rating, while Cantor Fitzgerald increased its target to $175 and kept an Overweight rating after the earnings report. Analysts Increase Forecasts on Gilead Sciences
• Neutral Sentiment: Gilead secured a pan-Canadian reimbursement agreement for LYVDELZI, potentially expanding access to the primary biliary cholangitis treatment. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share.
• Negative Sentiment: Longer-term pricing pressure remains: Management said Medicare pricing changes are expected to reduce Biktarvy’s price by about 38% beginning in 2028, creating an estimated $1.5 billion annual revenue headwind. The company also lowered or widened its 2026 EPS outlook, and some analysts cautioned that third-quarter HIV growth benefited from temporary inventory and channel effects. Gilead Hikes 2026 Sales Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Gilead agreed to pay $45 million to settle Texas allegations involving unlawful incentives to healthcare providers, adding a legal and compliance expense.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. The company is best known for its HIV treatments, including Biktarvy, Descovy, Genvoya and Truvada, as well as therapies for chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Its portfolio also includes Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral treatment for COVID-19.

Gilead has expanded into oncology and cell therapy through products such as Trodelvy and the CAR T-cell therapies Yescarta and Tecartus, which are developed and marketed through its Kite subsidiary.

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