Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Given New $183.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $163.00 to $183.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Leerink Partners downgraded Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $146.00 to $127.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $158.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $169.19.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $170.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Gilead Sciences has a 52 week low of $114.02 and a 52 week high of $175.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $150.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.79.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.81 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 12.47% and a negative return on equity of 1.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post -0.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -122.85%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CEO Daniel O’Day sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 566,683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,812,415.70. This trade represents a 2.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.22, for a total value of $468,660.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 161,096 shares in the company, valued at $25,166,417.12. This trade represents a 1.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 111,000 shares of company stock worth $15,877,860 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at $15,393,785,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $1,316,606,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $918,387,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $448,021,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $398,905,000. 83.67% of the stock is 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 results exceeded expectations. Gilead reported adjusted earnings of $2.55 per share versus the $2.19 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 6.8% year over year to $8.30 billion, beating expectations by roughly $500 million. Gilead Sciences Q3 earnings and revenues top estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised its 2026 product-sales outlook to approximately $31.0 billion-$31.3 billion, up from $30.1 billion-$30.4 billion, following strong demand for HIV treatments. Base-business sales excluding Veklury reportedly increased 16%, the company’s strongest growth in more than a decade. Gilead Sciences lifts sales guidance on HIV portfolio strength
• Positive Sentiment: Key growth products performed well. Biktarvy continued to drive HIV sales, while Trodelvy revenue rose 41.7% year over year to $506 million. Livdelzi also contributed to growth, aided by a pan-Canadian public reimbursement agreement that could broaden patient access. GILD beats Q3 earnings on HIV strength and Trodelvy sales growth
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved materially. Citigroup, Scotiabank, Morgan Stanley, Truist, Wells Fargo, Needham and Cantor Fitzgerald all raised their price targets, with several maintaining buy or overweight-equivalent ratings. Targets generally range from $175 to $200. Analysts increase forecasts after upbeat Q3 results
• Neutral Sentiment: Gilead declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, equivalent to an annualized $3.28 payout and a stated yield of about 1.9%.
• Negative Sentiment: Longer-term pricing and concentration risks remain. Medicare pricing is expected to reduce Biktarvy’s price by approximately 38% beginning in 2028, potentially cutting annual revenue by about $1.5 billion. Analysts also note that oncology and immunology growth remains less developed, while some coverage characterizes the valuation as demanding after the rally. Gilead hikes 2026 sales outlook and discusses Biktarvy pricing

About Gilead Sciences

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.