Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Stock Bought by Maryland State Retirement & Pension System

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 12.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,589 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,393 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $11,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at $100,056,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $55,754,000. Groupe la Francaise increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 30.9% in the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 49,627 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,270,000 after purchasing an additional 11,712 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 292,295 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $36,929,000 after purchasing an additional 10,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,251,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on GILD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $126.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.15.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $169.73 on Thursday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $116.88 and a 12 month high of $176.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The stock has a market cap of $210.52 billion, a PE ratio of -53.71 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.51.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.36. The firm had revenue of $8.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.81 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 1.85% and a negative net margin of 12.47%. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.47 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

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

Top Gilead Sciences Stories

Here are a few of the latest stories about GILD:

• Positive Sentiment: Gilead reported PURPOSE 5 results showing twice-yearly injectable lenacapavir outperformed daily oral HIV prevention on persistence, with no HIV infections in the injectable group. The findings could strengthen the long-term opportunity for its HIV prevention franchise. Gilead Sciences Posts PURPOSE 5 Win As HIV Shot Beats Daily Pills
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage also points to clinical progress in HIV and liver disease and raised full-year guidance, supporting confidence in Gilead’s outlook. Its latest reported quarter beat analyst estimates for earnings and revenue, with revenue up year over year. Gilead Sciences After Trial Wins And Raised Guidance Looks Fully Valued
• Negative Sentiment: Potential U.S. drug-price negotiations pose a near-term risk to Gilead’s revenue, adding a policy overhang even as its clinical and commercial prospects improve. Drug Pricing Risks As Washington Turns Up Heat

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 118,234 shares in the company, valued at $16,273,727.76. This represents a 19.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Keeley Cain Wettan sold 3,399 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.11, for a total value of $557,809.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,360 shares in the company, valued at $879,629.60. This 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 quarter, insiders have sold 242,709 shares of company stock worth $39,503,427. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

About Gilead Sciences

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.