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

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $84.00 to $90.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential downside of 15.06% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on GILD. Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.33.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 2.6 %

GILD opened at $105.96 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,177.33, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Gilead Sciences has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $106.43.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. Analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 4.35 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $11,863,898.55. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total value of $620,355.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $815,198.80. This trade represents a 43.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 710,500 shares of company stock worth $67,684,956. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,171,691 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,044,795,000 after acquiring an additional 841,776 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,724,306,000 after acquiring an additional 7,157,113 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,659,007 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,293,822,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,331 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,289,917 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,608,337,000 after acquiring an additional 749,047 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,789,254,000. 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.