Westend Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Westend Capital Management LLC drastically reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences by 98.4%, now owning only 2,271 shares after selling 139,795 shares during the second quarter.
• Gilead Sciences has received a range of upgrades from several analysts, including a new target price of $127.00 from Truist Financial, reflecting positive sentiment in the market.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.79, which will be paid on September 29th, representing an annual yield of 2.8%.

Westend Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 98.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,271 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 139,795 shares during the period. Westend Capital Management LLC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $252,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,647,484,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,382 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 13,755,481 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,541,302,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520,809 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 1st quarter valued at $620,415,000. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 3,473,373 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $389,191,000 after acquiring an additional 223,171 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Dbs Bank raised Gilead Sciences to a "moderate buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Three 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $117.17.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 1.4%

Gilead Sciences stock traded down $1.60 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $112.49. The stock had a trading volume of 7,258,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,195,682. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $81.83 and a 12 month high of $121.83. The company has a market capitalization of $139.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $114.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.95. 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 (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.05. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 50.99% and a net margin of 21.86%.The business had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.950-8.250 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. 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 payout ratio is 62.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Gilead Sciences news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.63, for a total transaction of $1,136,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 595,725 shares in the company, valued at approximately $67,692,231.75. The trade was a 1.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $296,325.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 160,110 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,977,838.30. This trade represents a 1.54% 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 $9,390,030 over the last 90 days. 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.