Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks reports. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Gilead Sciences’ Q1 2027 earnings at $2.09 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $2.24 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $2.43 EPS, Q4 2027 earnings at $2.60 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $9.36 EPS.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $133.00 to $155.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.04.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $149.92 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -56.15 and a beta of 0.33. Gilead Sciences has a 1-year low of $108.46 and a 1-year high of $157.29. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $135.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.46.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. The company had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post -0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total value of $3,853,920.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 118,234 shares in the company, valued at $16,273,727.76. This represents a 19.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.36, for a total transaction of $415,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 165,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,918,780.56. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 90,000 shares of company stock worth $12,266,220 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 12,498.3% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 241,168,657 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $30,469,248,000 after purchasing an additional 239,254,365 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $15,393,785,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,240,518 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,393,921,000 after buying an additional 1,151,213 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 27,698,660 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,399,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,269 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 23,121,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,837,948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,046,688 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Key Gilead Sciences News

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

• Positive Sentiment: FDA approval expands HIV portfolio: The FDA approved Bixlenvo, Gilead’s once-daily, single-tablet regimen for virologically suppressed adults with HIV. The treatment could broaden Gilead’s offerings, particularly among underserved patients, and create an additional source of HIV revenue. FDA Approves Gilead’s New Single Tablet HIV Regimen
• Positive Sentiment: Strong Buy ranking reinforces earnings optimism: Zacks upgraded Gilead to a Rank #1, or Strong Buy, citing improving earnings prospects. The upgrade may attract additional investor interest. Gilead Upgraded to Strong Buy
• Positive Sentiment: 2027 earnings estimates moved higher: Zacks raised its forecasts for every quarter in 2027 by $0.01 to $0.02 per share and increased its full-year estimate to $9.36 from $9.30. Erste Group also lifted its FY2027 estimate to $9.86 from $9.57. Although the revisions are modest, they indicate improving analyst expectations for Gilead’s earnings trajectory.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst support comes with limitations: Wall Street’s average recommendation remains favorable, but the accompanying analysis notes that sell-side ratings can be overly optimistic and may have limited predictive value. Investors will likely look for evidence that Bixlenvo gains meaningful market adoption.
• Neutral Sentiment: Stock near the upper end of its range: GILD is trading well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages and close to its 52-week high, suggesting that considerable optimism may already be reflected in the valuation. This could limit near-term upside if product launches or earnings fail to exceed expectations.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

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.