Royal Bank Of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Stock Price

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price target boosted by Royal Bank Of Canada from $103.00 to $118.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

GILD has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $153.00 to $159.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.64.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 1.8%

NASDAQ GILD traded down $2.79 on Wednesday, reaching $153.01. 2,800,641 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,780,041. The company has a market cap of $189.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.60, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.45. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $93.37 and a 12 month high of $157.29. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $129.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.77.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.03. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.04% and a net margin of 28.90%.The business had revenue of $7.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.450-8.850 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.68%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.86, for a total value of $3,524,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 107,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,491,310.98. The trade was a 20.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $15,611,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 566,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $76,504,230. This represents a 16.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 319,391 shares of company stock worth $44,141,101. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,097,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $14,863,487,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113,692 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 29,207,662 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,231,548,000 after purchasing an additional 727,515 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at $2,617,152,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 12.0% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,139,681 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,680,505,000 after purchasing an additional 1,618,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 10,467,411 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,167,221,000 after purchasing an additional 1,614,355 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on top and bottom lines — Gilead reported Q4 EPS of $1.86 and revenue of ~$7.9B, ahead of consensus, driven by strong HIV and liver-disease drug sales. This is the primary catalyst for the rally as investors reward visible current cash flow. Reuters: Gilead quarterly results beat Wall Street estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple analyst upgrades and higher price targets — Banks including Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Needham and others raised PTs and/or ratings after the print, providing buy-side momentum and supporting the stock’s upside. MarketScreener: Morgan Stanley raises PT
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend hike — Board approved a 3.8% quarterly dividend increase to $0.82/share, raising yield and reinforcing the income case for investors. Dividends often support valuation in large-cap biotech. BusinessWire: Dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment case notes — Commentary highlighting Yescarta label expansion and margin/earnings leverage adds longer-term upside potential but is incremental versus the near-term beat/guidance story. Yahoo Finance: Yescarta and dividend story
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials & transcripts available — For detail on pipeline comments and management tone, see the earnings call transcript and slide deck (useful for modelling but not an immediate stock mover). Seeking Alpha: Q4 earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: FY?2026 guidance light — Gilead set FY?26 EPS of $8.45–$8.85 and revenue guidance slightly below consensus (~$29.6–30.0B vs. ~30.1B consensus), which prompted an initial sell-off after hours and is a near-term risk to valuation. MSN: Outlook short of Wall Street view
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed analyst signals — Some firms raised price targets but a few maintained cautious ratings or PTs that imply downside versus current levels (e.g., RBC’s PT remains below the stock), creating a split analyst narrative that could cap upside until guidance clarity improves. Benzinga: analyst actions

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.