Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Lowers Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 3.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 551,867 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 19,466 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $69,723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aviva PLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 1,156,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $141,978,000 after buying an additional 59,782 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $1,418,000. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $100,056,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,754,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 106,526 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,075,000 after buying an additional 13,385 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on GILD shares. Maxim Group raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Leerink Partners cut shares of Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $146.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. HSBC upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $133.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.04.

Key Headlines Impacting Gilead Sciences

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved Bixlenvo, a once-daily single-tablet regimen combining bictegravir and lenacapavir for virologically suppressed adults with HIV. It is the first and only single-tablet option for patients on complex regimens who cannot use currently available alternatives, potentially expanding Gilead’s HIV franchise and supporting its longer-term lenacapavir strategy. Reuters FDA approval article
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission approved Trodelvy plus Keytruda for certain first-line metastatic triple-negative breast cancer patients, strengthening Gilead’s oncology portfolio and adding a potential growth opportunity outside its core HIV business. EU Trodelvy approval article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of approximately $158. However, GILD’s strong multi-year advance may have raised expectations and limited the immediate upside from the Bixlenvo approval. Gilead valuation article
• Negative Sentiment: Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares worth about $2.68 million, reducing his position by roughly 58%. The sale occurred under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, making it a limited bearish signal, but it may still weigh modestly on investor sentiment. SEC insider transaction filing

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.62, for a total value of $2,675,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 12,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,916,306.28. This trade represents a 58.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the business’s 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 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 105,000 shares of company stock worth $14,238,120. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 2.1%

GILD opened at $145.68 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $108.46 and a one year high of $157.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -54.56 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The company had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is -122.85%.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.