Alliancebernstein L.P. Reduces Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. by 1.3%, selling 93,525 shares and now holding 6.95 million shares, valued at approximately $779 million.
• Insiders have sold a total of 82,000 shares of Gilead stock worth around $9.37 million over the last three months, indicating a decrease in their positions.
• Gilead Sciences reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,954,321 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 93,525 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.56% of Gilead Sciences worth $779,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smallwood Wealth Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2,837.5% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Colonial Trust Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 304.3% during the first quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 283 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Core Alternative Capital grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 370.8% during the first quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 306 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total transaction of $3,318,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 114,168 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,532,333.04. This trade represents a 19.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total transaction of $1,136,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 595,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $67,692,231.75. The trade was a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,000 shares of company stock worth $9,371,330 in the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $112.71 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $139.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.45, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.36. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.74 and a 52 week high of $121.83. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $113.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.74.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.95 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 21.86% and a return on equity of 50.99%. The firm's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.950-8.250 EPS. Research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Truist Financial raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a report on Friday, August 8th. Daiwa America raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $115.39.

Gilead Sciences Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines in the areas of unmet medical need in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy, Odefsey, Truvada, Complera/ Eviplera, Stribild, Sunlencs, and Atripla products for the treatment of HIV/AIDS; Veklury, an injection for intravenous use, for the treatment of COVID-19; and Epclusa, Harvoni, Vemlidy, and Viread for the treatment of viral hepatitis.

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