50,830 Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Shares Acquired by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,242,210 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,830 shares during the quarter. Gilead Sciences accounts for approximately 0.8% of Candriam S.C.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $185,828,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of GILD. Bank of Nova Scotia acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $100,056,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $55,754,000. Groupe la Francaise boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 30.9% during the 2nd quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 49,627 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $6,270,000 after purchasing an additional 11,712 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.6% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth approximately $6,251,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $168.00 to $172.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $175.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Zacks Research downgraded Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. HSBC increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $196.00 price objective on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday. Twenty-three investment 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 an average target price of $170.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.62, for a total transaction of $2,675,160.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,916,306.28. This trade represents a 58.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total value of $3,853,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 118,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,273,727.76. This represents a 19.15% 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 239,310 shares of company stock valued at $38,945,617. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of GILD stock opened at $166.89 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $116.88 and a 52-week high of $176.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.94. The company has a market capitalization of $207.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.81 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently -103.80%.

Key Headlines Impacting Gilead Sciences

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

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

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.