Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Shares Sold by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences by 22%, selling 425,079 shares during the 2nd quarter, leaving it with approximately 1.5 million shares worth around $166.7 million.
• Analysts have recently upgraded Gilead's stock, with multiple price target increases; Cantor Fitzgerald raised its target from $129 to $135, while JPMorgan increased it from $135 to $145.
• Insider transactions showed that CEO Daniel O'Day sold 10,000 shares worth over $1.1 million, representing a 1.62% decrease in his position in the company.

Aberdeen Group plc decreased its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,508,918 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 425,079 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.12% of Gilead Sciences worth $166,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in 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 purchasing an additional 11,156,382 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter worth approximately $620,415,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $238,083,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 worth $282,706,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040,261 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,470,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $13,162,606,000 after purchasing an additional 1,942,433 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on GILD. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Dbs Bank raised shares of Gilead Sciences to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Truist Financial raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $118.08.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.94, for a total value of $1,139,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 605,725 shares in the company, valued at $69,016,306.50. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.74, for a total transaction of $548,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 8,920 shares in the company, valued at $978,880.80. This trade represents a 35.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 82,000 shares of company stock worth $9,402,130 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.4%

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $117.18 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $145.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.34. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $114.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $110.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.08 billion for 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%. Gilead Sciences's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.01 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.950-8.250 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.95%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GILD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.