DZ Bank Upgrades Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) to Buy

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) was upgraded by stock analysts at DZ Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $108.00 price objective on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. DZ Bank’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 4.54% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on GILD. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.33.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $103.31 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $93.14 and a 200-day moving average of $87.12. The company has a market cap of $128.75 billion, a PE ratio of 1,147.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences has a 1-year low of $62.07 and a 1-year high of $104.71.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 80,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,427,227.92. The trade was a 67.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total transaction of $23,064,310.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 138,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,886,126.44. The trade was a 64.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 572,824 shares of company stock worth $53,611,715 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of GILD. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $39,908,000. First Western Trust Bank grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 56,093 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,181,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares during the period. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,553 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 158.8% during the fourth quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 352 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Finally, Pitcairn Co. boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 6,845 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.