Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Price Target Cut to $150.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price objective decreased by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $151.00 to $150.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 22.36% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on GILD. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $135.00 target price on Gilead Sciences and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $133.16.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of GILD traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $122.59. 1,581,216 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,750,362. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.33. Gilead Sciences has a 1 year low of $89.83 and a 1 year high of $128.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $123.28 and its 200-day moving average is $117.77.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.86% and a net margin of 27.88%.The company had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.39, for a total value of $1,193,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 581,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,389,826.17. The trade was a 1.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deborah H. Telman sold 53,646 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.85, for a total value of $6,590,411.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 43,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,365,596.60. This trade represents a 55.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 136,257 shares of company stock worth $16,855,192. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norden Group LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 31,047 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,811,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,322 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 408 shares in the last quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 24,969 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,065,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 5,009 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sax Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,736 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.