Sowell Financial Services LLC Increases Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Sowell Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 63.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,373 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,573 shares during the quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings 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 worth $1,680,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618,453 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.2% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,210,599 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,133,376,000 after purchasing an additional 414,454 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.9% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 7,148,405 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $793,506,000 after purchasing an additional 400,002 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,138,699 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $630,056,000 after purchasing an additional 726,101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 46.7% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 3,845,379 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $426,837,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223,895 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on GILD. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $118.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Argus lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.81.

Key Gilead Sciences News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition strengthens oncology pipeline: Gilead agreed to acquire Tubulis for up to $5.0B ($3.15B upfront, up to $1.85B in milestones), adding a next‑generation ADC platform and lead candidate TUB‑040 (Phase 1b/2 for platinum‑resistant ovarian cancer and NSCLC). The transaction is expected to close in Q2 2026 and Tubulis will operate inside Gilead post‑close — a tangible pipeline boost that can extend future oncology revenue. Business Wire
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: Bernstein put a Buy on Gilead, signaling conviction that recent M&A and pipeline moves improve medium‑term prospects — a positive endorsement that can underpin investor confidence. Globe and Mail
• Neutral Sentiment: Street reactions are mixed: Some banks raised price targets (RBC nudged its target higher to $123) but maintained conservative ratings, leaving implied upside limited from some analysts’ perspectives. That keeps expectations calibrated even as the company spends on deals. MarketScreener
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/sector context: Broad market weakness today and healthcare sector headlines (Medicare rate moves, sector M&A activity) are weighing on stocks generally; Gilead’s move is part of a wider Q1 surge in pharma M&A. Yahoo / Sector roundup
• Negative Sentiment: Execution and strategy concerns: Commentary frames recent M&A as partly defensive — “more about survival” — and investors may be worried about integration risk, high upfront cost and contingent milestones. These concerns can pressure the share price in the short term despite long‑term pipeline logic. Moby / Yahoo

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.9%

GILD opened at $138.80 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $172.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.39. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $93.37 and a fifty-two week high of $157.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $145.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 1.55.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $7.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 28.90%.The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.450-8.850 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.23, for a total transaction of $432,690.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 131,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,006,485.17. The trade was a 2.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total transaction of $617,500.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,101,620. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 299,280 shares of company stock valued at $42,820,550 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.