Wells Fargo & Company Upgrades Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) to Overweight

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $100.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $78.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.36% from the company’s current price.

GILD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, June 20th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $93.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.94.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $85.21 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $79.20 and a 200-day moving average of $71.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Gilead Sciences has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $87.86. The company has a market capitalization of $106.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 236.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $6.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 29.34%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total value of $2,459,529.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total transaction of $167,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 100,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,398,843.87. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total value of $2,459,529.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at $6,545,480.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,847 shares of company stock worth $3,033,340. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 9,550 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 1,998 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 26.6% during the third quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 5,753 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares in the last quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 13.2% during the third quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 22,140 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 2,577 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth about $184,000. Finally, Hoxton Planning & Management LLC grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hoxton Planning & Management LLC now owns 3,880 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

About Gilead Sciences

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.