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

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

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on GILD. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $110.55.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of GILD traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $107.37. 6,037,127 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,726,038. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $100.36. Gilead Sciences has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $119.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $133.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 290.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. The company had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($1.32) EPS. The firm's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total transaction of $3,010,560.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 121,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,026,263.04. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.82, for a total transaction of $249,550.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 165,674 shares in the company, valued at $16,537,578.68. This represents a 1.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 50,929 shares of company stock valued at $5,644,780. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the first quarter worth about $25,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2,837.5% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company's stock.

About Gilead Sciences

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.