Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec Acquires New Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec bought a new position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,083,390 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $263,215,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec owned approximately 0.17% of Gilead Sciences at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after acquiring an additional 2,450 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $215,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 16.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 118,695 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,160,000 after purchasing an additional 12,705 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 18.6% in the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Leerink Partners cut Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $146.00 to $127.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $157.00 to $156.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total value of $725,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,459,771.32. This trade represents a 33.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total transaction of $1,954,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 592,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,160,851.23. This trade represents 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 87,000 shares of company stock worth $11,562,960. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $148.09 on Thursday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.46 and a fifty-two week high of $157.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $133.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $183.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.46 and a beta of 0.32.

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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend 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.