Balefire LLC Takes $484,000 Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Balefire LLC has invested $484,000 in Gilead Sciences, acquiring 4,364 shares during the second quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors have increased their stakes in Gilead, with 83.67% of the company's stock now owned by such entities.
• Gilead reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.01, beating analysts' expectations, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share.

Balefire LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,364 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $484,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 314.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,703,103 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,647,484,000 after buying an additional 11,156,382 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $620,415,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 13,891.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,550,298 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $285,761,000 after acquiring an additional 2,532,070 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 422.6% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,523,036 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $282,706,000 after acquiring an additional 2,040,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,470,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $13,162,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,942,433 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD stock traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $114.09. 12,580,487 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,095,334. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.07. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $81.83 and a 1-year high of $121.83. The company has a market cap of $141.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

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

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on GILD shares. Dbs Bank upgraded Gilead Sciences to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 12th. Daiwa America raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.17.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.57, for a total value of $340,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 113,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,855,329.01. This trade represents a 2.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total value of $1,136,300.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 595,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $67,692,231.75. This trade represents a 1.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,390,030. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.