Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Shares Sold by Arizona State Retirement System

Key Points

• Arizona State Retirement System reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.2% in Q4, selling 11,561 shares and now holds 351,709 shares valued at about $43.17 million.
• Company insiders have been net sellers — CEO Daniel O'Day sold 10,000 shares and Johanna Mercier sold 3,000, with insiders offloading 178,640 shares over the last 90 days and now owning 0.30% of the stock.
• Wall Street sentiment is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $157.35, while Gilead raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 (about a 2.5% yield) and set FY2026 EPS guidance of 8.45–8.85.

Arizona State Retirement System reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 351,709 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 11,561 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $43,169,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Corundum Trust Company INC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Financial Consulate Inc. boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 85.8% in the fourth quarter. Financial Consulate Inc. now owns 236 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. BOCHK Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. MTM Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 176.0% in the third quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 276 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 123.1% in the fourth quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC now owns 290 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America set a $162.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Twenty-four 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $157.35.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.96, for a total value of $422,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 128,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,152,687.84. This represents a 2.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.79, for a total transaction of $1,447,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 642,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at $92,999,775.32. The trade was a 1.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 178,640 shares of company stock valued at $26,691,550 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.6%

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $133.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $93.37 and a 52-week high of $157.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $142.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.39.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.03. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 28.90%.The company had revenue of $7.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.90 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.450-8.850 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 8.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.45%.

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.

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