Focused Alpha LLC Makes New $1.14 Million Investment in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Focused Alpha LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 9,034 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,141,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $15,393,785,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,097,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $14,863,487,000 after purchasing an additional 2,113,692 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,240,518 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,393,921,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,213 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 27,698,660 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $3,399,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 23,121,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,837,948,000 after buying an additional 3,046,688 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GILD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Maxim Group raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $170.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $157.00 to $156.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.40, for a total value of $376,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 171,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,524,408.40. This represents a 1.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total value of $1,954,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 592,133 shares in the company, valued at $77,160,851.23. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,000 shares of company stock worth $6,568,860. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.4%

GILD opened at $138.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $172.25 billion, a PE ratio of -52.03 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.46 and a twelve month high of $157.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $130.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently -122.85%.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

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.