Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 326,886 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management cut its stake in Gilead by 12.2%, selling 326,886 shares and now holds 2,356,514 shares worth about $290.89 million (≈0.19% of the company).
• Several institutions added to positions—most notably Massachusetts Financial Services and Vanguard—but insiders have been net sellers, disposing of 178,640 shares in the last three months and now owning just 0.30%.
• Gilead beat Q results (EPS $1.86 vs $1.83), set FY2026 guidance of 8.45–8.85 EPS, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 (2.5% yield), and carries a consensus analyst target of $157.35.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 12.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,356,514 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 326,886 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.19% of Gilead Sciences worth $290,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 3,763.8% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,223,304 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $518,368,000 after buying an additional 4,113,999 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,097,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $14,863,487,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113,692 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 154.3% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,089,283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $342,910,000 after acquiring an additional 1,874,508 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 12.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,139,681 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,680,505,000 after acquiring an additional 1,618,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 46.7% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,845,379 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $426,837,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223,895 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.96, for a total transaction of $422,880.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 176,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,835,883.36. This represents a 1.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.44, for a total value of $4,324,320.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 120,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,577,278.72. This represents a 18.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 178,640 shares of company stock valued at $26,691,550. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $130.40 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $142.44 and its 200 day moving average is $132.22. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $93.37 and a 1-year high of $157.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.55 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The company has a market cap of $161.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.39.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $7.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 28.90% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.90 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.450-8.850 EPS. Research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 8.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is 48.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on GILD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Argus raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Daiwa Securities Group raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $129.00 to $161.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Twenty-four 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.35.

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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