Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Coverage Initiated at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $125.00 price target on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price target points to a potential upside of 17.45% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $106.92.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD opened at $106.43 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $109.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.88. Gilead Sciences has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $119.96. The firm has a market cap of $132.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 287.64, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total transaction of $13,822,739.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $12,626,253.06. This represents a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,540,875. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Western Financial Corp CA acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter worth $1,110,000. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 36.4% during the first quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,473 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 38,560 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,321,000 after purchasing an additional 994 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $69,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 400.1% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,771 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 3,017 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

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.