Franklin Resources Inc. Decreases Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,464,633 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 29,081 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.28% of Gilead Sciences worth $384,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Csenge Advisory Group boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 319.0% in the 3rd quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 21,394 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,375,000 after buying an additional 16,288 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 52.1% during the third quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 78,494 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,713,000 after buying an additional 26,882 shares during the last quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 249.1% in the third quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 10,045 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,115,000 after acquiring an additional 7,168 shares during the period. Railway Pension Investments Ltd raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.1% in the third quarter. Railway Pension Investments Ltd now owns 1,415,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $157,139,000 after acquiring an additional 42,200 shares during the period. Finally, TriaGen Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the third quarter valued at about $1,274,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Gilead Sciences

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

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies initiated coverage with a Buy and $180 price target, signaling analyst confidence and implying ~23% upside from recent levels. This provides fresh institutional buy-side interest. Jefferies Starts Gilead Sciences at Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Short interest fell ~15.7% in February to ~18.45M shares (1.5% of float), lowering the potential for short-squeeze volatility and suggesting fewer immediate bearish bets against the stock. Market data on GILD short interest
• Positive Sentiment: Macro/sector tailwind: commentators including Josh Brown (Ritholtz) are bullish on large-cap biotech as a growth segment less prone to disruption, which supports investor appetite for Gilead as a defensive growth name within biotech. Josh Brown: Biotech growth stocks immune to disruption risk
• Positive Sentiment: Market opportunity: industry reports point to expansion in CD19-targeted therapies and autoimmune/oncology pipelines, which underpins the strategic rationale for Gilead’s moves to build out oncology/CAR-T capabilities. CD19 Inhibitors Market to Witness Significant Expansion
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor outreach: Gilead presented at the Barclays and Leerink healthcare conferences (transcripts available); these investor events provide detail but have not produced a clear immediate market reaction. Barclays conference transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent trading: coverage roundup and prior-day outperformance show momentum, but the move may invite short-term profit-taking. Gilead Outperforms Broader Market
• Negative Sentiment: Acquisition concern: Gilead agreed to buy Arcellx for up to $7.8B at roughly a 79% premium to the pre-deal price — strategic for oncology/CAR-T scale but potentially dilutive/expensive in the near term, which can pressure sentiment and trigger selling from valuation-conscious investors. Gilead to Acquire Arcellx, Inc. for Up to $7.8 billion

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ GILD opened at $146.00 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $139.70 and its 200-day moving average is $126.44. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $93.37 and a 12-month high of $157.29. 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 firm has a market cap of $181.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.37.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $7.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 28.90% and a return on equity of 49.46%. Gilead Sciences’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.450-8.850 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.43, for a total transaction of $463,290.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 167,779 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,910,110.97. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 115,640 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.00, for a total value of $15,611,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 566,698 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $76,504,230. The trade was a 16.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 309,280 shares of company stock valued at $43,935,470 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GILD. Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $146.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.62.

About Gilead Sciences

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.