Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Hold Rating for Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD)

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating reiterated by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on GILD. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $91.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Gilead Sciences from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Gilead Sciences from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.87.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $65.42. 12,380,516 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,477,028. The firm has a market cap of $81.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.27, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Gilead Sciences has a one year low of $64.63 and a one year high of $87.86. The stock's fifty day moving average is $71.40 and its 200 day moving average is $76.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.49) by $0.17. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 38.85%. The company had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. Gilead Sciences's revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 4.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total value of $145,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 96,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,026,339.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 83,364,123 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $6,753,350,000 after acquiring an additional 1,642,736 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 59,657,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,832,824,000 after buying an additional 1,743,418 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,630,134 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,509,227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,350,550 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 0.9% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 16,909,619 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,267,207,000 after buying an additional 158,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,301,624,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.