State of Wisconsin Investment Board Lowers Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

State of Wisconsin Investment Board trimmed its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 661,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 24,380 shares during the period. State of Wisconsin Investment Board owned about 0.05% of Gilead Sciences worth $81,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 52.1% in the third quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 78,494 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,713,000 after buying an additional 26,882 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 1,156,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $141,978,000 after buying an additional 59,782 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.9% in the third quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 619,690 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $75,962,000 after buying an additional 17,284 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,138,699 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $630,056,000 after buying an additional 726,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $1,418,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GILD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Twenty-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.41.

Key Headlines Impacting Gilead Sciences

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA accepted Gilead’s application for once-weekly oral Yeztugo (lenacapavir) for HIV prevention, advancing a potential new long-acting PrEP option and opening a possible new growth driver for the company. FDA Accepts Gilead’s Filing for Weekly Oral Yeztugo for HIV Prevention
• Positive Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed its Overweight rating and set a $155 price target, signaling continued analyst confidence in upside from current levels. Benzinga report on Cantor Fitzgerald rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Two Gilead insiders, including CFO Andrew D. Dickinson and Johanna Mercier, sold shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans. The sales were disclosed normally and do not appear to signal an abrupt change in outlook, but they can still weigh on sentiment. SEC filing for Andrew D. Dickinson sale SEC filing for Johanna Mercier sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent reports noted GILD had previously dipped modestly in the prior session, but the stock’s latest move appears tied more to the FDA milestone and analyst support than to broader market action. Gilead Sciences (GILD) Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick: What Investors Need to Know

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.29, for a total transaction of $3,676,120.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 125,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,513,524.91. This represents a 18.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.40, for a total value of $376,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 171,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,524,408.40. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,930,150. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of GILD stock opened at $127.23 on Wednesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $104.46 and a 1 year high of $157.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $134.32. The company has a market cap of $157.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.91 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 48.19% and a net margin of 30.99%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.81 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050–0.650 EPS. Research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.69%.

About Gilead Sciences

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.