Royal Bank Of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its target price raised by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $103.00 to $118.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector perform” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price objective points to a potential downside of 22.27% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on GILD. Citigroup lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Mizuho lifted 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. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $114.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $152.42.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 2.6%

GILD opened at $151.81 on Wednesday. Gilead Sciences has a twelve month low of $93.37 and a twelve month high of $157.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $129.59 and a 200-day moving average of $121.98. The stock has a market cap of $188.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.03. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 28.90% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business had revenue of $7.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.450-8.850 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.86, for a total transaction of $3,524,080.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 107,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,491,310.98. The trade was a 20.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 115,640 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total value of $15,611,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 566,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,504,230. The trade was a 16.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 319,391 shares of company stock worth $44,141,101 in the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,887 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $477,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,724 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $948,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 6,619 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $812,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 4,572 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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: Q4 results beat consensus — revenue and EPS topped estimates, driven by HIV and liver‑disease portfolio strength and early traction for new products; this underpins analyst bullishness and longer‑term revenue visibility. GILD’s Q4 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Big wave of analyst price‑target increases and buy/outperform notes (examples: Morgan Stanley $171, Scotiabank $177, Needham/Wolfe $170, Wells Fargo & JPMorgan mid‑$160s) — brokers cite HIV momentum, margin expansion and product pipeline (Yeztugo, Yescarta) as reasons to raise targets. Analyst Coverage Summary
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase announced — quarterly dividend up to $0.82 (3.8% raise), supporting income investor appeal and signaling management confidence in cash flow.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call / transcripts published (multiple outlets) — useful for detail on guidance assumptions, product rollouts and cost/margin outlook but neutral until investors parse management commentary. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Yescarta label expansion and new product commentary appear in coverage — potential medium‑term upside if uptake meets expectations; currently a pipeline/progression read‑through. Yescarta & Dividend Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest notes in data feeds show anomalous 0 shares / NaN changes — not meaningful evidence of a short squeeze or new bearish positioning based on available figures.
• Negative Sentiment: FY‑2026 guidance came in below some Street expectations — management’s outlook tempered the post‑earnings rally and is the principal reason for the intraday/extended‑session pullback despite the beat. Guidance / Shares Dip
• Negative Sentiment: At least one broker adjustment (Royal Bank of Canada) shows a lower relative price target in published feeds despite a PT raise vs. prior internal note — highlights disagreement among analysts on near‑term valuation and reinforces guidance‑driven uncertainty. RBC / Ticker Report

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.