Empirical Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD – Free Report) by 25.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,170 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,882 shares during the quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,017,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2,837.5% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Advisors grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 304.3% in the first quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Daiwa America upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $133.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $118.65.
Gilead Sciences Stock Performance
NASDAQ:GILD opened at $117.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $146.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $110.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $85.60 and a 1-year high of $121.83.
Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.95 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 50.99% and a net margin of 21.86%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.950-8.250 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.
Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.95%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.57, for a total transaction of $283,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 159,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,120,661.35. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.66, for a total value of $1,116,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 591,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,013,726.98. The trade was a 1.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 69,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,986,340. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.
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.
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