Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Climb 3.9% – Time to Buy?

Posted by Stanley Muller on Oct 16th, 2026

Gilead Sciences logo Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD – Get Free Report)’s stock price rose 3.9% on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $152.88 and last traded at $153.6410. 2,004,525 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 70% from the average session volume of 6,791,270 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.92.

More Gilead Sciences News

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

Positive Sentiment: Expansion of oncology pipeline: Gilead and Vir entered a collaboration valued at up to approximately $1.9 billion, including as much as $1.74 billion in potential milestone payments. Gilead will have exclusive rights to develop and commercialize three novel dual-masked T-cell engager candidates for solid tumors, broadening its cancer-immunotherapy pipeline. Gilead and Vir forge $1.9bn pact to develop next-gen T-cell engagers
Positive Sentiment: Strategic focus on T-cell engagers: The agreement reinforces Gilead’s investment in T-cell engager technology following its acquisition of Ouro Medicines. Vir contributes immunology and antibody-engineering expertise, potentially giving Gilead additional long-term growth opportunities if the therapies demonstrate clinical and commercial value. What Does Gilead Sciences Gain From Its New Solid Tumor Partnership?
Positive Sentiment: Defensive-sector demand: Gilead was among major pharmaceutical stocks trading near record levels as a technology-sector selloff encouraged investors to favor relatively defensive healthcare companies. Big pharma stocks near all-time highs
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed, and increased online attention mainly reflects investor interest rather than a new fundamental change. The partnership is still subject to clinical-development and regulatory risks.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Leerink Partners downgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $146.00 to $127.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $159.33.

View Our Latest Report on GILD

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $146.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.13 billion, a PE ratio of -58.94 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.27.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The business had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently -122.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Daniel O’Day sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.64, for a total value of $2,229,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 577,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $85,785,049.12. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was 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 represents a 58.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 105,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,940,540 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 60.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 217 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Gilead Sciences, Inc (NASDAQ: GILD) is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. Its research and commercial activities focus primarily on virology, including HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, as well as oncology, inflammation and other areas of significant unmet medical need.

Gilead’s portfolio includes HIV treatments such as Biktarvy, Descovy, Genvoya and Sunlenca; hepatitis therapies including Epclusa, Harvoni and Vemlidy; and Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral used to treat COVID-19 in certain patients.