Insider Selling: Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Insider Sells $432,690.00 in Stock

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.23, for a total transaction of $432,690.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 131,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,006,485.17. This trade represents a 2.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Johanna Mercier also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, February 17th, Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.44, for a total value of $4,324,320.00.
• On Thursday, January 15th, Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.31, for a total value of $372,930.00.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $141.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $175.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $142.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.60. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.37 and a 52 week high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.03. The firm 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 firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.450-8.850 EPS. As a group, analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. 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. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 48.45%.

Key Gilead Sciences News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Pipeline boost — Assembly Biosciences licensed a helicase‑primase inhibitor program (including candidates ABI‑5366 and ABI‑1179) to Gilead after positive Phase 1b interim data, adding early‑stage herpes assets to Gilead’s antiviral franchise and expanding near‑term development options. This is a clear pipeline + inorganic expansion signal. Assembly Biosciences Reports Year-End 2025 Financial Results and Recent Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — Multiple firms have raised targets or maintain buy ratings (Deutsche Bank, Jefferies, BofA, Needham), lifting consensus target above the current trade and providing institutional buying ammunition. This helps underpin the shares despite short‑term weakness.
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder return signal — Gilead recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.82 (ann. $3.28), reinforcing cash‑flow confidence and appeal to income investors. Dividend / SEC Filing
• Neutral Sentiment: Trending attention / coverage — Zacks and other outlets flagged GILD as a trending stock; that can increase intraday volume and volatility but doesn’t indicate fundamental change. Here is What to Know Beyond Why Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) is a Trending Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Market‑flow signals — Unusual options activity and recent coverage pieces on valuation have attracted attention; these can amplify swings but are ambiguous for direction until large trades or analyst revisions follow. 2 Mega-Cap Nasdaq Stocks with Unusual Options Activity: What to Watch
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — Recent disclosed sales (including Johanna Mercier and a reported sale by the CFO) have been highlighted in filings and press summaries; insider sales can weigh on sentiment even when they’re routine or pre‑planned. Insider Sale – Johanna Mercier CFO SEC Filing

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GILD shares. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $128.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.62.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $2,617,152,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 397.6% in the 2nd 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. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth $517,808,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3,763.8% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,223,304 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $518,368,000 after buying an additional 4,113,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,521,228 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,499,098,000 after buying an additional 3,394,330 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.