Avanza Fonder AB Trims Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Avanza Fonder AB lessened its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 119,661 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 7,454 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $13,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 158.8% during the 4th quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 352 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Morton Brown Family Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on GILD. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $110.55.

Insider Activity

In other Gilead Sciences news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.42, for a total transaction of $1,104,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 620,268 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,489,992.56. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.52, for a total value of $3,010,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 121,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,026,263.04. This trade represents a 18.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,000 shares of company stock worth $4,630,310 over the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.7%

GILD stock traded down $0.79 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $109.30. 6,413,391 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,741,190. The firm's 50 day moving average is $105.36 and its 200 day moving average is $101.86. The firm has a market cap of $135.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 295.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.69 and a twelve month high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.77 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. Gilead Sciences's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.32) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.53%.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.