Scotiabank Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock

Key Points

• Scotiabank raised Gilead Sciences’ price target to $200 from $177 and maintained a “sector outperform” rating, implying approximately 17% upside. The broader analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy,” with 23 Buy ratings and six Holds.
• Gilead reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.55 versus the $2.19 consensus and revenue of $8.3 billion versus $7.81 billion expected. Revenue increased 6.8% year over year, driven primarily by its HIV business and growth in Trodelvy sales.
• Despite improving earnings momentum, longer-term risks include expected Medicare price reductions for Biktarvy beginning in 2028, which could reduce annual revenue by roughly $1.5 billion, along with concerns about the sustainability of recent HIV-related growth.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by investment analysts at Scotiabank from $177.00 to $200.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "sector outperform" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Scotiabank's price target suggests a potential upside of 17.18% from the company's current price.

GILD has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $163.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $158.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research lowered Gilead Sciences from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $167.59.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 3.1%

Shares of GILD stock traded up $5.07 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $170.68. 11,255,218 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,798,897. Gilead Sciences has a 12-month low of $114.02 and a 12-month high of $175.65. The stock has a market cap of $211.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -63.93 and a beta of 0.31. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $150.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.47 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post -0.48 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CEO Daniel O'Day sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.90, for a total transaction of $2,218,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 566,683 shares of the company's stock, valued at $83,812,415.70. This represents a 2.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.22, for a total transaction of $468,660.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 161,096 shares of the company's stock, 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 have sold 111,000 shares of company stock worth $15,877,860. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $15,393,785,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at about $1,316,606,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $918,387,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $448,021,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $398,905,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Gilead Sciences

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

• Positive Sentiment: Gilead reported third-quarter adjusted EPS of $2.55, well above the $2.19 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $8.3 billion versus expectations of $7.81 billion. Revenue increased 6.8% year over year, and the company raised its 2026 product-sales outlook to $31.0 billion-$31.3 billion from $30.1 billion-$30.4 billion. Gilead Beats Q3 Earnings on HIV Strength and Trodelvy Sales Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The core business, excluding Veklury, grew 16%—Gilead’s strongest growth in more than a decade. Biktarvy and the broader HIV franchise remained the primary growth engine, while Trodelvy sales rose 41.7% to $506 million and Livdelzi also contributed. Gilead Q3 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised their targets following the results: Needham to $200, Wells Fargo to $190, Morgan Stanley to $183 and Truist to $181. These revisions indicate improved confidence in near-term earnings momentum. Analysts Increase Forecasts After Upbeat Q3 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Gilead declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, equivalent to $3.28 annually and a yield of approximately 1.9%. The company also secured Canadian reimbursement for Livdelzi, potentially broadening access, but agreed to a $45 million Texas settlement related to alleged unlawful provider incentives.
• Negative Sentiment: Longer-term concerns remain. Medicare price negotiations are expected to reduce Biktarvy’s price by about 38% beginning in 2028, potentially cutting annual revenue by roughly $1.5 billion. Analysts also note that recent HIV growth benefited from inventory and favorable channel timing, while oncology and immunology remain less established and the 2026 EPS outlook was reduced. Gilead Q3 Earnings Call Highlights and Pricing Risks

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

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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