Insider Selling: Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) CEO Sells $17,974,744.04 in Stock

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) CEO Daniel O’Day sold 102,619 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.16, for a total transaction of $17,974,744.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 551,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $96,632,794.28. This represents a 15.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Daniel Patrick O’day also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, November 5th, Daniel O’Day sold 9,810 shares of Gilead Sciences stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.17, for a total transaction of $1,718,417.70.
• On Monday, November 2nd, Daniel O’Day sold 15,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.74, for a total transaction of $2,546,100.00.
• On Friday, October 30th, Daniel O’Day sold 15,881 shares of Gilead Sciences stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.25, for a total transaction of $2,783,145.25.
• On Thursday, October 1st, Daniel O’Day sold 15,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.90, for a total transaction of $2,218,500.00.
• On Tuesday, September 1st, Daniel O’Day sold 15,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.64, for a total value of $2,229,600.00.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $166.89 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.94. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $116.88 and a 1-year high of $176.58. The firm has a market cap of $207.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.81 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.81 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 1.85% and a negative net margin of 12.47%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $100,056,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $55,754,000. Groupe la Francaise grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 30.9% in the second 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 during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.6% in the second 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 during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth about $6,251,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $196.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $165.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $158.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Twenty-three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.15.

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

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.