Morgan Stanley Lowers Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Price Target to $168.00

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price objective dropped by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $168.00 in a report issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 27.92% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on GILD. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $128.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.15.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD stock opened at $131.33 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.55. Gilead Sciences has a one year low of $96.18 and a one year high of $157.29. The firm has a market cap of $163.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.31.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.12. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 49.45% and a net margin of 30.99%.The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050–0.650 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.16, for a total transaction of $1,291,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,702,353.72. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.96, for a total transaction of $422,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 176,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,835,883.36. This trade represents a 1.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 63,000 shares of company stock worth $9,238,250 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 486,271 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $67,772,000 after acquiring an additional 12,166 shares in the last quarter. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the first quarter valued at approximately $648,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 19.0% in the first quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft now owns 8,320 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 54.2% during the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 222 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust Co increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 192,157 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,781,000 after buying an additional 2,683 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Gilead Sciences

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

• Positive Sentiment: Truist Financial reaffirmed its buy rating on Gilead and raised its price target to $157 from $155, implying meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Gilead reported Q1 EPS of $2.03 and revenue of $6.96 billion, both ahead of analyst expectations, supported by HIV and Trodelvy sales growth. Yahoo Finance
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its Yeztugo 2026 sales guidance to $1 billion from $800 million, signaling stronger-than-expected launch momentum. Yahoo Finance
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC slightly reduced its price target to $122 from $123 and kept a sector perform view, suggesting a more cautious stance but no major change in thesis. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Gilead cut its 2026 EPS guidance to a loss range of -$1.05 to -$0.65, a major deterioration from prior profit expectations, due to acquisition charges and financing costs. Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also appear concerned that near-term growth is being driven more by older products like Descovy and Biktarvy than by the much-anticipated Yeztugo launch, creating questions about the pace of future growth. Yahoo Finance

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

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.