Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) Given New $177.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) had its price objective hoisted by Scotiabank from $140.00 to $177.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector outperform rating on the biopharmaceutical company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on GILD. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $153.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.64.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Gilead Sciences stock traded down $3.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $152.64. 1,403,529 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,716,250. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $129.01 and its 200 day moving average is $121.77. Gilead Sciences has a 52-week low of $93.37 and a 52-week high of $157.29. The stock has a market cap of $189.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.36.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 10th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $7.93 billion during 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 51.04%. The company’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.90 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.450-8.850 EPS. Analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Kelly A. Kramer sold 2,805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.10, for a total transaction of $356,515.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,186.90. The trade was a 67.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 115,640 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $17,346,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 613,912 shares in the company, valued at $92,086,800. This trade represents a 15.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 319,391 shares of company stock valued at $44,141,101 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,617,152,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 397.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,748,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $748,147,000 after acquiring an additional 5,392,191 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3,763.8% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,223,304 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $518,368,000 after acquiring an additional 4,113,999 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake 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 valued at $1,499,098,000 after purchasing an additional 3,394,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 164.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,489,062 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $387,286,000 after acquiring an additional 2,169,266 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Key Gilead Sciences News

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

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.