Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Price

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $151.00 to $150.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 22.36% from the company’s previous close.

GILD has been the subject of several other reports. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Monday, December 15th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.16.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.0%

GILD traded down $0.01 on Tuesday, hitting $122.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,581,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,750,362. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $117.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Gilead Sciences has a 12-month low of $89.83 and a 12-month high of $128.70. The company has a market cap of $152.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.33.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.42 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.86% and a net margin of 27.88%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total transaction of $366,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 153,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,727,366. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.00, for a total value of $366,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 106,221 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,958,962. This represents a 2.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 136,257 shares of company stock worth $16,855,192 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GILD. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,364,226 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,233,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893,401 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,207,662 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,231,548,000 after purchasing an additional 727,515 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at about $2,150,268,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 12.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,139,681 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,680,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 18.2% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 10,467,411 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,167,221,000 after buying an additional 1,614,355 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Gilead Sciences

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.