First Trust Advisors LP Buys 1,683,586 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 116.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,129,637 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,683,586 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.25% of Gilead Sciences worth $436,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 71.4% in the 4th quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 60.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 54.2% in the 1st quarter. Wilkerson Advisory Group LLC now owns 222 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Monday, July 6th. Leerink Partners cut Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $146.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Citigroup raised their target price 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, Wall Street Zen upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Twenty-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.33.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of GILD stock opened at $130.28 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $129.63 and a 200-day moving average of $135.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.06 and a 12-month high of $157.29. The firm has a market cap of $161.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 30.99% and a return on equity of 48.19%. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050–0.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 125,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,513,524.91. This represents a 18.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.29, for a total value of $1,894,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 607,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $76,674,826.57. This trade represents a 2.41% 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 have sold 77,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,978,740 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences 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.