Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Cuts Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co trimmed its stake in Gilead by 4.3%, selling 8,700 shares to finish the quarter with 195,915 shares worth about $24.05 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 83.67% of the stock.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 24 Buys and 4 Holds yield a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average target of $157.35, and several firms recently raised targets into the $165–$170 range (one firm cut to $115).
• Company fundamentals: Gilead beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, set FY2026 guidance of $8.45–$8.85 EPS, raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 (annual $3.28, ~2.5% yield), and insiders have executed planned share sales under Rule 10b5-1.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co lessened its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 195,915 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 8,700 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $24,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 4,572 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $561,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 711 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 1,016 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $125,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Trivium Point Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 7,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Wolfe Research upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $115.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 10th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $157.35.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD opened at $131.65 on Monday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $95.29 and a one year high of $157.29. The company has a market cap of $163.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.55. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $140.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.55.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $7.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.450-8.850 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.96, for a total value of $422,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 128,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,152,687.84. This represents a 2.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.16, for a total value of $1,291,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $81,702,353.72. This trade represents a 1.56% 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 178,640 shares of company stock valued at $26,584,250 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.

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