Optas LLC Has $382,000 Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Optas LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 17.1% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,447 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 503 shares during the period. Optas LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $382,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 2,837.5% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Colonial Trust Advisors grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 304.3% in the first quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Core Alternative Capital grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 370.8% in the first quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $116.74 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $114.57 and a 200-day moving average of $110.19. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $84.17 and a one year high of $121.83. The company has a market cap of $144.85 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.95 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 21.86% and a return on equity of 50.99%. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.950-8.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GILD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $133.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $118.08.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.57, for a total transaction of $283,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 159,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,120,661.35. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.57, for a total transaction of $340,710.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 113,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,855,329.01. This represents a 2.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 82,000 shares of company stock worth $9,402,130. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines in the areas of unmet medical need in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy, Odefsey, Truvada, Complera/ Eviplera, Stribild, Sunlencs, and Atripla products for the treatment of HIV/AIDS; Veklury, an injection for intravenous use, for the treatment of COVID-19; and Epclusa, Harvoni, Vemlidy, and Viread for the treatment of viral hepatitis.