Cantor Fitzgerald Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $155.00 to $175.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 5.67% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on GILD. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $162.93.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 4.0%

NASDAQ GILD opened at $165.61 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $150.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.55. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $114.02 and a 12 month high of $165.70. The company has a market capitalization of $205.35 billion, a PE ratio of -62.03 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total transaction of $725,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,459,771.32. This represents a 33.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel O’Day sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.90, for a total transaction of $2,218,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 566,683 shares in the company, valued at $83,812,415.70. This trade represents a 2.58% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 111,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,877,860 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. PFS Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 101.1% in the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 191 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Gilead Sciences News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings and revenue exceeded expectations. Gilead reported non-GAAP EPS of $2.55, above the $2.19 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 6.8% year over year to $8.30 billion versus expectations of approximately $7.81 billion. Gilead Sciences third-quarter earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: HIV medicines drove the performance. The company highlighted 16% growth in its base business, led by the Biktarvy HIV franchise, while cancer drug Trodelvy also contributed to sales growth. The results represent Gilead’s strongest sales growth in roughly a decade. Gilead HIV franchise earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year sales guidance was raised. Gilead now expects 2026 product sales of $31.0 billion to $31.3 billion, up from its previous range of $30.1 billion to $30.4 billion and modestly above Wall Street’s expectations. Gilead raises sales guidance
• Positive Sentiment: The quarterly dividend was maintained. Gilead declared an $0.82-per-share quarterly dividend, or $3.28 annualized, representing an approximately 2% yield based on the provided share price. The dividend is payable December 30 to shareholders of record December 15.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst reaction was mixed. Robert W. Baird assigned the shares a Hold rating, suggesting the strong operating results may be balanced by valuation near record levels and uncertainty surrounding the company’s pipeline and future growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Profitability and pricing risks temper the report. Gilead widened its 2026 non-GAAP loss forecast, while Medicare-related changes are expected to reduce Biktarvy’s price by 38% beginning in 2028. These factors could pressure future earnings despite the current sales momentum. Gilead Biktarvy pricing and sales outlook

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.