First Trust Advisors LP Grows Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Posted by Geri Gentry on Jul 22nd, 2026

Gilead Sciences logo First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD – Free Report) by 116.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,129,637 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,683,586 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $436,177,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 71.4% during the 4th quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 60.0% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.29, for a total value of $1,894,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 607,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,674,826.57. The trade was a 2.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.29, for a total transaction of $3,676,120.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 125,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,513,524.91. This trade represents a 18.21% 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 sold a total of 77,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,978,740 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $130.28 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $161.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.75 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 1.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $129.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.42. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.06 and a twelve month high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.91 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 48.19% and a net margin of 30.99%.Gilead Sciences’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050–0.650 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GILD. Leerink Partners cut Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $146.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $168.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $133.00 to $155.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Twenty-five 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 a consensus price target of $158.33.

Read Our Latest Report on GILD

Gilead Sciences Profile

(Free Report)

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.