HSBC Upgrades Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) to “Hold”

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) was upgraded by analysts at HSBC from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage presently has a $69.00 target price on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. HSBC’s target price indicates a potential upside of 5.71% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on GILD. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Truist Financial downgraded Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $91.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.57.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ GILD opened at $65.27 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $71.40 and its 200 day moving average is $76.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $65.09 and a 12 month high of $87.86. The stock has a market cap of $81.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.19.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($1.32) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.49) by $0.17. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 38.85% and a net margin of 20.89%. The company had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 5.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.18, for a total transaction of $146,360.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,386,496.48. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 54.7% during the 1st quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 20,509 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,502,000 after acquiring an additional 7,249 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 11,539 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,121 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,085,000 after acquiring an additional 1,314 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 74,638 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,467,000 after acquiring an additional 957 shares during the period. Finally, Human Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Human Investing LLC now owns 3,747 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

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.