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

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price objective raised by Royal Bank Of Canada from $126.00 to $131.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada‘s price objective suggests a potential downside of 24.06% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $184.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 19th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.19.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD stock traded up $6.90 during trading on Friday, reaching $172.51. The company had a trading volume of 4,263,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,780,959. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $213.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -64.57 and a beta of 0.31. Gilead Sciences has a twelve month low of $114.02 and a twelve month high of $175.65.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.36. The company had revenue of $8.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.81 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.47 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post -0.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total value of $725,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,459,771.32. This represents a 33.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.64, for a total transaction of $2,229,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 577,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $85,785,049.12. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 111,000 shares of company stock worth $15,877,860. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $100,056,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth $55,754,000. Groupe la Francaise grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 30.9% in the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 49,627 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,270,000 after purchasing an additional 11,712 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 292,295 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $36,929,000 after purchasing an additional 10,206 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,251,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Gilead Sciences

Here are the key news stories impacting Gilead Sciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results exceeded expectations: Gilead reported third-quarter revenue of $8.3 billion, up 6.8% year over year and approximately $500 million above consensus. Non-GAAP EPS of $2.55 also surpassed estimates of roughly $2.17–$2.19. Gilead Sciences Q3 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: 2026 sales outlook was raised: Management now expects full-year product sales of approximately $31.0 billion to $31.3 billion, up from $30.1 billion to $30.4 billion, reflecting strong HIV demand and broader base-business growth. Gilead Sciences Lifts Sales Guidance on HIV Portfolio Strength
• Positive Sentiment: Growth beyond Biktarvy was encouraging: Trodelvy sales rose 41.7% year over year to $506 million, while management highlighted strong performance across its HIV portfolio. Gilead also agreed to acquire PepStar’s oral IL-23R inhibitor program for $1.275 billion upfront, supporting its future pipeline. Gilead Sciences Why I Remain Bullish After Q3
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support improved: Needham raised its price target to $200 and maintained a Buy rating, while Cantor Fitzgerald increased its target to $175 and kept an Overweight rating after the earnings report. Analysts Increase Forecasts on Gilead Sciences
• Neutral Sentiment: Gilead secured a pan-Canadian reimbursement agreement for LYVDELZI, potentially expanding access to the primary biliary cholangitis treatment. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share.
• Negative Sentiment: Longer-term pricing pressure remains: Management said Medicare pricing changes are expected to reduce Biktarvy’s price by about 38% beginning in 2028, creating an estimated $1.5 billion annual revenue headwind. The company also lowered or widened its 2026 EPS outlook, and some analysts cautioned that third-quarter HIV growth benefited from temporary inventory and channel effects. Gilead Hikes 2026 Sales Outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Gilead agreed to pay $45 million to settle Texas allegations involving unlawful incentives to healthcare providers, adding a legal and compliance expense.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. The company is best known for its HIV treatments, including Biktarvy, Descovy, Genvoya and Truvada, as well as therapies for chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Its portfolio also includes Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral treatment for COVID-19.

Gilead has expanded into oncology and cell therapy through products such as Trodelvy and the CAR T-cell therapies Yescarta and Tecartus, which are developed and marketed through its Kite subsidiary.