9,313 Shares in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Purchased by Ninety One UK Ltd

Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,313 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,388,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $15,393,785,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 61,216,552 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $7,734,099,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357,967 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 15,584,341 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,912,822,000 after acquiring an additional 444,660 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 10.7% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 10,539,111 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,468,836,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth $1,316,606,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GILD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. HSBC increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 19th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $159.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total transaction of $3,853,920.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 118,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,273,727.76. This represents a 19.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total transaction of $725,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,459,771.32. The trade was a 33.19% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 105,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,940,540. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $157.37 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $114.02 and a fifty-two week high of $160.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $146.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $195.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -58.94 and a beta of 0.31.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. The company had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.47 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -122.85%.

More Gilead Sciences News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Expansion of solid-tumor oncology pipeline: Gilead agreed to collaborate with Vir Biotechnology on three novel, dual-masked PRO-XTEN® T-cell engagers targeting solid tumors. Gilead receives exclusive development and commercialization rights, giving it access to Vir’s immunology and antibody-engineering platform. The agreement could provide Vir with up to approximately $1.9 billion, including as much as $1.74 billion in milestone payments, if development and commercial targets are achieved. Gilead and Vir forge $1.9bn pact to develop next-gen T-cell engagers
• Positive Sentiment: Investor reaction and defensive-sector support: The Vir deal reinforces Gilead’s continuing investment in T-cell engagers and oncology, following its acquisition of Ouro Medicines. Separately, shares of major pharmaceutical companies, including Gilead, were near record levels as a technology-sector selloff encouraged investors to favor perceived defensive businesses. Can Gilead’s Deal With VIR Boost Its Oncology Pipeline and Growth?
• Neutral Sentiment: Momentum and attention are elevated: Gilead cleared a prior February high and attracted increased attention from Zacks users. These signals may support near-term momentum, but they do not change the company’s underlying earnings outlook. Gilead Sciences Clears Its February High
• Negative Sentiment: Development risk remains: The oncology programs are early-stage assets, so milestone-based economics depend on successful clinical development, regulatory approval and eventual commercialization. Analysts also have mixed views on Gilead, limiting the strength of the bullish signal. Analysts Have Conflicting Sentiments on Gilead Sciences

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc (NASDAQ: GILD) is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. Its research and commercial activities focus primarily on virology, including HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, as well as oncology, inflammation and other areas of significant unmet medical need.

Gilead’s portfolio includes HIV treatments such as Biktarvy, Descovy, Genvoya and Sunlenca; hepatitis therapies including Epclusa, Harvoni and Vemlidy; and Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral used to treat COVID-19 in certain patients.