Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Rating Upgraded by Leerink Partnrs

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) was upgraded by analysts at Leerink Partnrs from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday, Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Leerink Partners raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $74.00 to $96.00 in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.85.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $86.29 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $81.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $72.94. The stock has a market cap of $107.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 239.69, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $87.86.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The business had revenue of $6.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $406,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,506,146.42. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total transaction of $167,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,398,843.87. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total transaction of $406,150.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,506,146.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,847 shares of company stock worth $3,033,340. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 11,603 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $850,000 after purchasing an additional 2,426 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 751.1% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 127,258 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,322,000 after buying an additional 112,305 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter valued at $161,000. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.8% in the first quarter. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY now owns 311,545 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $22,821,000 after acquiring an additional 14,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 13.1% during the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 8,809 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares in the last quarter. 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.