HSBC Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at HSBC from $155.00 to $175.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. HSBC’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 20.69% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on GILD. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Leerink Partners lowered Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $146.00 to $127.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings cut Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price target on Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.78.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $145.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.28. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $108.46 and a 12 month high of $157.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.80 billion, a PE ratio of -54.35 and a beta of 0.33.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post -0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.62, for a total transaction of $2,675,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,916,306.28. This trade represents a 58.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel O’Day sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total value of $1,954,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 592,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,160,851.23. This represents a 2.47% 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 sold a total of 105,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,495,820 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 71.4% in the 4th quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. The company’s research focuses primarily on virology, oncology, inflammation and related areas, with products serving patients in the United States and international markets.

Gilead is best known for its HIV treatments, including Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy and other antiretroviral therapies. Its portfolio also includes medicines for viral hepatitis, such as Epclusa and Vemlidy, and Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral treatment for COVID-19.