United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Decreases Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 25.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 108,152 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 36,536 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $13,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 71.4% in the 4th quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $148.86 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -55.75 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.46 and a 12 month high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is -122.85%.

Gilead Sciences News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Bixlenvo, Gilead’s once-daily single-tablet HIV regimen combining bictegravir and lenacapavir. It is the first and only single-tablet option for virologically suppressed adults on complex treatment regimens who cannot use currently available alternatives. The approval could broaden Gilead’s HIV franchise and supports its strategy of using lenacapavir in long-term HIV treatment and prevention. Reuters FDA approval article
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission approved Trodelvy plus Keytruda for certain first-line metastatic triple-negative breast cancer patients. The label expansion strengthens Gilead’s oncology franchise and provides another potential source of revenue growth beyond its core HIV business. EU Trodelvy approval article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent investor commentary points to continued optimism around Gilead’s HIV prevention medicines, including the potential growth of its PrEP portfolio. Analysts and investors also view the stock as potentially undervalued relative to its fundamentals despite a strong five-year performance, which may support further interest. Gilead HIV catalyst article
• Neutral Sentiment: Gilead will present at the Wells Fargo, Cantor and Morgan Stanley healthcare conferences in September. These events could provide updates on Bixlenvo, HIV prevention, Trodelvy and the broader pipeline, but they do not create an immediate change to financial results. Gilead investor conferences announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares worth approximately $2.68 million, reducing his holdings by about 58%. The transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which makes it a weaker bearish signal than a discretionary insider sale, but it may still modestly weigh on sentiment. SEC insider transaction filing

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total value of $725,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,459,771.32. This trade represents a 33.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.62, for a total value of $2,675,160.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,916,306.28. This trade represents a 58.26% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 105,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,238,120 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GILD has been the topic of several research reports. HSBC raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $133.00 to $155.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Leerink Partners downgraded Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $146.00 to $127.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Barclays dropped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Maxim Group raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.04.

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.