Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Upgraded to Buy at Maxim Group

Key Points

• Maxim Group upgraded Gilead Sciences to “buy” from “hold” and set a $165 price target, implying about 26% upside from the prior close.
• Gilead’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $2.03 versus $1.91 expected and revenue of $6.96 billion, up 4.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with 25 Buy ratings and only four Holds; however, the article also notes recent insider share sales by CEO Daniel Patrick O’Day and executive Johanna Mercier.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Maxim Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $165.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. Maxim Group's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 26.44% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on GILD. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Gilead Sciences from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Twenty-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.93.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of GILD stock opened at $130.50 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $137.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.48. Gilead Sciences has a twelve month low of $104.46 and a twelve month high of $157.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.97. The company has a market capitalization of $162.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.78 and a beta of 0.31.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.12. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 48.19% and a net margin of 30.99%.The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050--0.650 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post -0.78 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.16, for a total transaction of $1,291,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 632,567 shares in the company, valued at $81,702,353.72. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.29, for a total value of $3,676,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 125,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,513,524.91. This represents a 18.21% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 63,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,523,570 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $2,617,152,000. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $517,808,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3,763.8% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,223,304 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $518,368,000 after acquiring an additional 4,113,999 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 23,121,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,837,948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,046,688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,097,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $14,863,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113,692 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company's stock.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead's product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.

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