Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Decreases Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 61.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 130,651 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 204,674 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $14,639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,724,306,000 after acquiring an additional 7,157,113 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 35,659,007 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,293,822,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,331 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 28,289,917 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,608,337,000 after acquiring an additional 749,047 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,789,254,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,915,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,377,707,000 after acquiring an additional 2,458,954 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on GILD. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.55.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.40, for a total value of $266,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 168,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,893,713.60. This trade represents a 1.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.42, for a total transaction of $1,104,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 620,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $68,489,992.56. This represents a 1.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 43,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,630,310. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $109.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $136.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 297.24, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $105.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $102.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.69 and a twelve month high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.32) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 66.53%.

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.