Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Truist Financial Analyst Says

Key Points

• Truist Financial raised Gilead Sciences’ price target to $158 from $150 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying 7.17% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 23 buy ratings and six holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $159.15.
• Gilead shares traded at $147.43, while the company reported quarterly revenue of $7.80 billion and better-than-expected EPS; insiders have sold $14.9 million of stock over the past 90 days.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $150.00 to $158.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Truist Financial's target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.17% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $165.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $159.15.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD traded up $3.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $147.43. 1,507,064 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,826,759. Gilead Sciences has a twelve month low of $114.02 and a twelve month high of $157.29. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $144.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $182.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.27 and a beta of 0.31.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post -0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CEO Daniel O'Day sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 577,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $85,785,049.12. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total transaction of $725,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,459,771.32. This trade represents a 33.19% 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. Insiders have sold 105,000 shares of company stock worth $14,940,540 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth $30,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

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.

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