527,542 Shares in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Acquired by Castleark Management LLC

Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 527,542 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $66,650,000. Gilead Sciences makes up 1.8% of Castleark Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $15,393,785,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth $2,617,152,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,316,606,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at $918,387,000. Finally, Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at $517,808,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $148.77 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $132.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.59. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.46 and a fifty-two week high of $157.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $184.47 billion, a PE ratio of -55.72 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. Gilead Sciences's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is currently -122.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on GILD shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Leerink Partners cut Gilead Sciences from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $146.00 to $127.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $158.04.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 15,000 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 592,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,160,851.23. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total transaction of $725,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 10,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,459,771.32. The trade was a 33.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 87,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,562,960. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

About Gilead Sciences

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.

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