Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Price Target Raised at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised Gilead Sciences’ price target to $131 from $126 while maintaining a “sector perform” rating, implying roughly 24% downside from the previous close.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: 23 analysts rate the stock a Buy and six a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and average price target of $162.19.
• Gilead shares rose 4.2% to $172.51 after the company reported quarterly EPS of $2.55 and revenue of $8.30 billion, surpassing consensus estimates.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $126.00 to $131.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "sector perform" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's target price would indicate a potential downside of 24.06% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $165.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Gilead Sciences from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $162.19.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 4.2%

GILD stock traded up $6.90 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $172.51. 4,263,746 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,780,959. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $150.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.27. Gilead Sciences has a one year low of $114.02 and a one year high of $175.65. The company has a market cap of $213.91 billion, a PE ratio of -64.57 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the director owned 10,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,459,771.32. The trade was a 33.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.22, for a total value of $468,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 161,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,166,417.12. This trade represents a 1.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 111,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,877,860. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Integrity Alliance LLC. boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 9.6% in the third quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. now owns 5,080 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Integrity Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth about $207,000. First Nebraska Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $567,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 15.1% during the third quarter. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super now owns 135,254 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $20,160,000 after purchasing an additional 17,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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.

Gilead Sciences News Summary

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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