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

Key Points

• UBS Group has raised its target price for Gilead Sciences from $108 to $112, maintaining a "neutral" rating, which indicates a potential downside of 6.48% from the stock's previous close.
• Gilead Sciences has received a mix of ratings from various analysts, with Needham & Company upgrading it to "buy" with a $133 target price, while the consensus price target among analysts is currently at $114.45.
• Shares of Gilead Sciences increased by 8.6%, trading at $119.77, and the company recently reported earnings of $2.01 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by equities researchers at UBS Group from $108.00 to $112.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the biopharmaceutical company's stock. UBS Group's price target points to a potential downside of 6.48% from the stock's previous close.

GILD has been the topic of several other reports. Needham & Company LLC raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company 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 company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded 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 report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $114.45.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 8.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD traded up $9.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $119.77. The stock had a trading volume of 6,377,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,378,379. The firm has a market cap of $148.98 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Gilead Sciences has a twelve month low of $72.43 and a twelve month high of $121.38.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.95 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 20.76% and a return on equity of 51.93%. The firm's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.01 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $3,010,560.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 121,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,026,263.04. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.45, for a total transaction of $1,104,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 615,725 shares in the company, valued at $68,006,826.25. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,984,175. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7,566.7% in the second quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 230 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 2,837.5% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the first quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.

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