Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 10,421,131 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,316,606,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Gilead Sciences from $157.00 to $156.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Leerink Partners downgraded Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $146.00 to $127.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.36, for a total transaction of $415,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 165,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,918,780.56. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $77,160,851.23. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 87,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,562,960 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ GILD opened at $146.74 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -54.96 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.46 and a 52-week high of $157.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $132.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.57.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.51 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

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