Confluence Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Confluence Investment Management LLC cut its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 909,835 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 43,111 shares during the period. Gilead Sciences makes up about 1.7% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $111,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,150,268,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 397.6% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,748,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $748,147,000 after purchasing an additional 5,392,191 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,521,228 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,499,098,000 after buying an additional 3,394,330 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position 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 worth $387,286,000 after buying an additional 2,169,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 154.3% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,089,283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $342,910,000 after acquiring an additional 1,874,508 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on GILD shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.62.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $141.11 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $142.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.60. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $93.37 and a 52 week high of $157.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.03. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 28.90%.The company had revenue of $7.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.90 EPS. The firm’s 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 48.45%.

More 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

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.79, for a total value of $1,447,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 642,308 shares in the company, valued at $92,999,775.32. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.23, for a total value of $432,690.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 179,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,844,717.93. The trade was a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 309,280 shares of company stock valued at $44,068,850 in the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences 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.