Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Stock: Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Increases Stake

Key Points

• Citizens Financial Group increased its Gilead stake by 52.4% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 33,063 shares valued at approximately $4.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.67% of Gilead.
• Gilead’s pipeline received several potential growth catalysts, including a $1.275 billion acquisition of PepStar’s oral IL-23R inhibitor program, progress on a weekly oral HIV treatment, and a Phase 3 oncology collaboration with BioNTech.
• Gilead reported quarterly revenue of $7.8 billion, above estimates, while analysts maintained a generally positive outlook with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $159.81 target price. Insiders sold $15.9 million of stock during the quarter, and the company faces a $45 million Texas Medicaid settlement.

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 52.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,063 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,374 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $4,928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth about $15,393,785,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at $1,316,606,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $918,387,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $448,021,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $398,905,000. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Key Gilead Sciences News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Inflammation pipeline expanded: Gilead agreed to acquire PepStar Therapeutics’ investigational oral IL-23R inhibitor program, including HCXT-2001, for approximately $1.275 billion in cash. The drug is intended for inflammatory bowel disease and could be developed alone or alongside Gilead’s emvistegrast, strengthening the company’s longer-term growth prospects. Gilead to Acquire Investigational Oral IL-23R Inhibitor HCXT-2001
• Positive Sentiment: HIV development update: An ongoing study of a potential weekly oral HIV treatment adds another option to Gilead’s long-acting HIV portfolio. Positive clinical progress could support the company’s dominant HIV franchise and future revenue durability. Gilead’s Weekly HIV Pill Study Adds Long-Acting Firepower
• Positive Sentiment: Oncology collaboration: BioNTech and Gilead will test Gilead’s sacituzumab govitecan with BioNTech’s pumitamig in a global Phase 3 trial for advanced triple-negative breast cancer. The collaboration may improve the commercial potential of Gilead’s oncology platform, although clinical success remains uncertain. BioNTech, Gilead to Test Drug Combination
• Positive Sentiment: Favorable analyst and earnings expectations: TD Cowen reiterated a Buy view, while analysts indicated that Gilead could beat expectations in its upcoming quarterly report. Such forecasts support sentiment, though they are not guarantees of results. Gilead Sciences Receives a Buy from TD Cowen
• Neutral Sentiment: Gilead plans to present new data on rare liver diseases at The Liver Meeting 2026. The presentations could generate future catalysts, but no immediate clinical results were reported. Gilead to Present New Liver-Disease Data
• Negative Sentiment: Legal overhang: Gilead will pay $45 million to settle Texas Medicaid claims alleging unlawful incentives to encourage providers to prescribe its medicines. The financial cost is modest relative to Gilead’s size, but the settlement adds regulatory and reputational risk. Gilead Sciences to Pay $45 Million in Texas Medicaid Settlement

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.62, for a total value of $2,675,160.00. Following the sale, the director owned 12,894 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,916,306.28. This trade represents a 58.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.22, for a total transaction of $468,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 113,684 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,759,714.48. This trade represents a 2.57% 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 111,000 shares of company stock valued at $15,877,860 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $156.04 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.84. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $114.02 and a 12 month high of $160.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.48 billion, a PE ratio of -58.44 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%. The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is presently -122.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday. HSBC raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $165.00 to $163.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $159.81.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. The company is best known for its HIV treatments, including Biktarvy, Descovy, Genvoya and Truvada, as well as therapies for chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Its portfolio also includes Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral treatment for COVID-19.

Gilead has expanded into oncology and cell therapy through products such as Trodelvy and the CAR T-cell therapies Yescarta and Tecartus, which are developed and marketed through its Kite subsidiary.

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