Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Stake Boosted by M&G PLC

M&G PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 108.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 163,341 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 84,814 shares during the period. M&G PLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $24,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. PFS Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 101.1% in the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 191 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the third quarter worth $29,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 85.5% in the third quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 217 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $169.32 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $153.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.14. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $116.88 and a twelve month high of $176.58. The company has a market capitalization of $210.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -53.58 and a beta of 0.35.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.36. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 12.47% and a negative return on equity of 1.85%. The company had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -103.80%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Wettan Keeley M. Cain sold 3,399 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.11, for a total value of $557,809.89. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $879,629.60. This trade represents a 38.81% 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 242,709 shares of company stock worth $39,503,427. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GILD. Wall Street Zen raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $184.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $158.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.15.

Gilead Sciences Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious diseases. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, the company focuses on antiviral therapies, including treatments and preventive medicines for HIV and medicines for viral hepatitis. Its products include Biktarvy for HIV and Epclusa for hepatitis C.

Gilead also develops medicines in areas such as oncology and inflammatory diseases. Its portfolio includes Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral medicine used to treat COVID-19.