Argent Trust Co Increases Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Argent Trust Co boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 32.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,447 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 21,785 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $9,929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,150,268,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 397.6% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,748,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $748,147,000 after buying an additional 5,392,191 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 33.5% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,521,228 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,499,098,000 after acquiring an additional 3,394,330 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 164.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,489,062 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $387,286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,364,226 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,233,912,000 after acquiring an additional 1,893,401 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Gilead Sciences

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

• Positive Sentiment: Gilead highlighted a twice-yearly HIV prevention injection with reported 99.9% efficacy (executive interview), reinforcing the company’s long-acting HIV/IP prevention market potential and upside to future sales if uptake and approvals follow. Johanna Mercier on Gilead’s HIV prevention innovation
• Positive Sentiment: New Phase 3 ARTISTRY-1 and ARTISTRY-2 data show the investigational single-tablet bictegravir/lenacapavir (BIC/LEN) maintained virological suppression when patients switched regimens — strengthens pipeline value and switch-market potential. Gilead’s Single-Tablet Regimen Maintained Virological Suppression
• Positive Sentiment: Daiwa raised its price target to $161 and kept an “outperform” rating, signaling buy-side confidence and giving shares technical/analyst momentum. Daiwa Securities Adjusts Price Target on Gilead Sciences
• Positive Sentiment: UBS reiterated a Buy with a $175 target, citing the advancing long-acting HIV franchise — another supportive analyst endorsement for upside. Gilead Sciences: Advancing Long-Acting HIV Franchise
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks issued a series of upward revisions to Gilead’s FY2026–FY2028 and multiple quarterly EPS forecasts (raises across 2026–2028), which supports higher medium-term earnings expectations. Zacks Research GILD Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces note Gilead has been outperforming the healthcare sector recently and analysts remain optimistic — supports momentum but is descriptive rather than new fundamental news. Gilead Sciences Stock: Is GILD Outperforming the Healthcare Sector?
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry/peer updates such as Kymera’s results were reported but are not directly material to Gilead’s near-term outlook. Kymera Therapeutics Q4 Highlights
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed its Q3 2026 EPS estimate slightly (from $2.34 to $2.30) — a small near-term downgrade within otherwise stronger multi-year raises; worth monitoring for quarterly variability. Zacks Lowers Q3 2026 Estimate
• Negative Sentiment: Merck reported promising Phase 3 results for a two-drug HIV regimen that matched Gilead’s Biktarvy, representing competitive pressure if approved. Investors should monitor regulatory outcomes and market-share implications. Merck’s New HIV Drug Shows Promise

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.44, for a total value of $4,324,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 120,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,577,278.72. The trade was a 18.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $617,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,101,620. This trade represents a 35.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 299,280 shares of company stock worth $42,487,570 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GILD. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $103.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Twenty-three research 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.72.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 3.6%

Shares of GILD opened at $148.95 on Friday. 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 1.31. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.77. The firm has a market cap of $184.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.36.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.03. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 28.90% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The firm had revenue of $7.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. The business’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. On average, analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 46.68%.

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.