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

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Leerink Partners from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $96.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $74.00. Leerink Partners’ target price indicates a potential upside of 8.89% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on GILD. Truist Financial increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.85.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD stock opened at $88.16 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $109.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 244.89, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $88.36. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $6.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.64 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 3.79%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 3.78 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total value of $2,459,529.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total value of $2,459,529.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,545,480.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total value of $167,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,189 shares in the company, valued at $8,398,843.87. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 36,847 shares of company stock valued at $3,033,340. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 198.3% during the 2nd quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cedar Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 51.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.