Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Stock: Candriam S.C.A. Raises Holdings

Candriam S.C.A. grew its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 4.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,242,210 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,830 shares during the quarter. Gilead Sciences makes up about 0.8% of Candriam S.C.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Candriam S.C.A. owned 0.10% of Gilead Sciences worth $185,828,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GILD. PFS Partners LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 101.1% during the third quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 191 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 85.5% during the 3rd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 217 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on GILD shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Leerink Partners cut 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 note on Tuesday, July 21st. UBS Group lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Twenty-three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.15.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.22, for a total value of $468,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 113,684 shares in the company, valued at $17,759,714.48. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.22, for a total value of $468,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 161,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,166,417.12. The trade was a 1.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 239,310 shares of company stock worth $38,945,617 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: New HIV-prevention data showed twice-yearly lenacapavir achieved nearly twice the one-year treatment persistence of daily oral F/TDF, a result that could support Gilead’s long-acting HIV-prevention strategy. Article: New Data Show Twice-Yearly Lenacapavir Achieved Nearly Twice the One-Year Persistence
• Positive Sentiment: In the Phase 3 IDEAL study, Livdelzi (seladelpar) achieved ALP normalization in about 75% of participants with primary biliary cholangitis. The results may strengthen its case for broader second-line use, although the stock reportedly fell following the update. Article: Gilead’s Livdelzi Achieves 75% ALP Normalization
• Positive Sentiment: Recent third-quarter results beat analyst estimates for earnings and revenue, and Gilead raised full-year product-sales guidance. The company also maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.82 per share. Article: Did Earnings Beat Just Shift Gilead Sciences’ Investment Narrative?
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Daniel O’Day sold more than 112,000 shares across November 4–5, but the transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. He retained 551,683 shares, which may temper concerns about the sales. SEC Form 4 filing

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $166.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84. The firm has a market cap of $207.00 billion, a PE ratio of -52.81 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $153.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.94. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $116.88 and a 12-month high of $176.58.

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. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 12.47% and a negative return on equity of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.47 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -1.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is -103.80%.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.