Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Price Up 3.9% – What’s Next?

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) shares traded up 3.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $152.88 and last traded at $153.6410. 2,004,525 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 6,791,270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.92.

Gilead Sciences News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: New cancer-immunotherapy partnership: Gilead and Vir Biotechnology announced a multi-program collaboration to discover and develop three PRO-XTEN® dual-masked T-cell engagers for solid tumors. Gilead receives exclusive rights to develop and commercialize the candidates, giving the company access to Vir’s technology and potential long-term oncology growth opportunities. Financial terms were not provided in the supplied reports. Vir Biotechnology Partners With Gilead on Next-Generation Cancer Immunotherapy Programs Vir Biotechnology Enters Multi-Program Collaboration and License Agreement with Gilead Sciences
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst outlook remains supportive: Analysts have highlighted Gilead among bullish healthcare stocks, while Erste Group Bank slightly increased its fiscal 2027 earnings-per-share estimate to $9.90 from $9.88. The revision is modest but reinforces the view that longer-term earnings expectations remain intact. Analysts Are Bullish on These Healthcare Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend appeal noted: Gilead was included among pharmaceutical companies viewed as capable of continuing dividend payments despite the eventual loss of exclusivity for blockbuster drugs. This supports the stock’s income-investment narrative but does not represent a new company announcement. Blockbuster Drugs Come and Go. These 5 Pharma Dividend Stocks Keep Paying
• Negative Sentiment: Upcoming earnings are a risk: A preview of Gilead’s next quarterly report projects a double-digit year-over-year decline in earnings per share. That could limit gains or increase volatility if results or guidance disappoint, despite the positive pipeline news. Earnings Preview: What to Expect From Gilead Sciences’ Report

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on GILD. Zacks Research lowered Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $146.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.33.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a market cap of $190.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -57.41 and a beta of 0.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $145.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.87.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. The business had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.47 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -122.85%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total value of $725,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,459,771.32. This represents a 33.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.29, for a total transaction of $435,870.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 164,096 shares in the company, valued at $23,841,507.84. This represents a 1.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 105,000 shares of company stock worth $14,940,540. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $15,393,785,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 61,216,552 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,734,099,000 after buying an additional 1,357,967 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,584,341 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,912,822,000 after buying an additional 444,660 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 10.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 10,539,111 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,468,836,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $1,316,606,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc (NASDAQ: GILD) is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. Its research and commercial activities focus primarily on virology, including HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, as well as oncology, inflammation and other areas of significant unmet medical need.

Gilead’s portfolio includes HIV treatments such as Biktarvy, Descovy, Genvoya and Sunlenca; hepatitis therapies including Epclusa, Harvoni and Vemlidy; and Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral used to treat COVID-19 in certain patients.