9,474 Shares in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Acquired by Dorsey Wright & Associates

Key Points

• Dorsey Wright & Associates opened a new position in Gilead Sciences during the first quarter, buying 9,474 shares valued at about $1.32 million.
• Institutional ownership in Gilead remains high, with multiple hedge funds and asset managers recently increasing their stakes and 83.67% of the stock held by institutions and hedge funds.
• Analysts are mostly constructive on the stock: the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $159.04, even as a few firms trimmed targets or ratings.

Dorsey Wright & Associates acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,474 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $1,320,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 20.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at about $215,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 12,705 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 18.6% during the 2nd 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 period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $157.00 to $156.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Maxim Group raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Gilead Sciences from $122.00 to $120.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Gilead Sciences from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Twenty-six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $159.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.29, for a total transaction of $1,894,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 607,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at $76,674,826.57. This trade represents a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.92, for a total value of $371,760.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 124,234 shares in the company, valued at $15,395,077.28. This trade represents a 2.36% 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. Insiders sold 77,000 shares of company stock worth $9,978,740 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 1.5%

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $134.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 0.32. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $129.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.75 and a fifty-two week high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.91 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 30.99% and a return on equity of 48.19%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050--0.650 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.77 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

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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