Conning Inc. Increases Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Conning Inc. has increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.9%, now holding 318,581 shares valued at approximately $35.3 million.
• Gilead Sciences' recent earnings beat expectations, reporting $2.01 EPS and $7.08 billion in revenue for the quarter.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Gilead, with JPMorgan increasing it from $135.00 to $145.00, and the stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Conning Inc. lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 318,581 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,854 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $35,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 20.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 2,450 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 22,760 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,550,000 after buying an additional 4,532 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 8,138 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $912,000 after buying an additional 574 shares during the period. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 62.5% in the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 3,909 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 1,503 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a report on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $118.08.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $117.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $145.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $114.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.25. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $84.17 and a 1-year high of $121.83.

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

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is presently 62.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.57, for a total value of $340,710.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 113,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,855,329.01. The trade was a 2.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.57, for a total transaction of $283,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 159,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,120,661.35. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,402,130. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Gilead Sciences

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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