Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Price Target Raised to $98.00 at Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada raised its target price for Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00, marking a potential downside of 17.90% from the company's current price.
• Multiple analysts have recently upgraded their ratings for Gilead Sciences, with Morgan Stanley increasing its price target to $135.00 and Needham & Company upgrading to a "buy" rating with a target of $133.00.
• Gilead Sciences reported better-than-expected earnings with $2.01 earnings per share, outperforming the consensus estimate of $1.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $96.00 to $98.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "sector perform" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective indicates a potential downside of 17.90% from the company's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Truist Financial raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.82.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD traded up $9.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $119.36. 6,882,046 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,381,174. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $110.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.25. The firm has a market cap of $148.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.33. Gilead Sciences has a one year low of $72.43 and a one year high of $121.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.95 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.93% and a net margin of 20.76%. The firm's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.03, for a total transaction of $333,090.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 117,168 shares in the company, valued at $13,009,163.04. This represents a 2.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.94, for a total transaction of $1,139,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,016,306.50. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,984,175 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GILD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,470,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $13,162,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942,433 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,207,662 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,231,548,000 after buying an additional 727,515 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,915,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,377,707,000 after buying an additional 2,458,954 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 314.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,703,103 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,647,484,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 13,755,481 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,541,302,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520,809 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines in the areas of unmet medical need in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy, Odefsey, Truvada, Complera/ Eviplera, Stribild, Sunlencs, and Atripla products for the treatment of HIV/AIDS; Veklury, an injection for intravenous use, for the treatment of COVID-19; and Epclusa, Harvoni, Vemlidy, and Viread for the treatment of viral hepatitis.

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