Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on GILD. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. BMO Capital Markets set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $131.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.54.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $124.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $154.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $122.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.11. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $88.57 and a fifty-two week high of $128.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 27.88% and a return on equity of 51.86%. The business had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences’s 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, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total value of $366,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 153,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,727,366. This trade represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deborah H. Telman sold 53,646 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.85, for a total transaction of $6,590,411.10. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,365,596.60. The trade was a 55.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 136,257 shares of company stock valued at $16,723,492. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,364,226 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,233,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893,401 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,207,662 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,231,548,000 after buying an additional 727,515 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,150,268,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 12.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,139,681 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,680,505,000 after buying an additional 1,618,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 13,755,481 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,541,302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520,809 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.