Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Keeps Overweight Rating at Cantor Fitzgerald

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $155.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s target price points to a potential upside of 5.37% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on GILD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $165.00 to $163.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $159.26.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:GILD traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $147.10. The stock had a trading volume of 4,489,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,833,658. Gilead Sciences has a one year low of $114.02 and a one year high of $157.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $182.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.09 and a beta of 0.31. The business’s 50 day moving average is $144.39 and its 200-day moving average is $136.55.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post -0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total transaction of $3,853,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 118,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,273,727.76. This represents a 19.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total transaction of $725,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,459,771.32. The trade was a 33.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 105,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,940,540 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Aviva PLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 1,156,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $141,978,000 after buying an additional 59,782 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at about $100,056,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at about $55,754,000. Groupe la Francaise increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 30.9% during the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 49,627 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,270,000 after buying an additional 11,712 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 292,295 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,929,000 after purchasing an additional 10,206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Gilead Sciences

Here are the key news stories impacting Gilead Sciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target to $170 from $160 and reaffirmed an “overweight” rating, implying substantial upside and reflecting increased confidence in Gilead’s earnings and pipeline prospects. JPMorgan analyst action
• Positive Sentiment: Truist lifted its target to $158 from $150 and retained a “buy” rating, citing a more constructive view of Gilead’s valuation and growth outlook. Truist analyst action
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its “overweight” rating with a $155 target, indicating further potential appreciation from recent trading levels. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst action
• Positive Sentiment: Gilead extended its oncology research collaboration with Nurix Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NRIX) by two years. The partnership could provide Gilead with additional protein-degradation drug candidates, while Nurix remains eligible for up to approximately $1.30 billion in potential payments plus royalties. Nurix collaboration extension
• Neutral Sentiment: Gilead signed a five-year DevOps agreement with Cognizant to combine life-sciences expertise with technical services. The deal should support operational efficiency but is unlikely to materially change near-term financial results. Cognizant DevOps agreement
• Negative Sentiment: RBC raised its target to $126 from $123 but maintained a “sector perform” rating. The new target remains below Gilead’s recent share price, signaling that RBC considers the stock fully valued or overvalued despite the modest increase. RBC analyst action

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc (NASDAQ: GILD) is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. Its research and commercial activities focus primarily on virology, including HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, as well as oncology, inflammation and other areas of significant unmet medical need.

Gilead’s portfolio includes HIV treatments such as Biktarvy, Descovy, Genvoya and Sunlenca; hepatitis therapies including Epclusa, Harvoni and Vemlidy; and Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral used to treat COVID-19 in certain patients.