Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $3.74 Million Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Key Points

• Howard Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. by 20.3% during the first quarter, now holding shares valued at $3.74 million.
• The stock price of Gilead Sciences, Inc. is currently around $114.23, with analysts setting a target price range between $125.00 and $135.00.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Daniel O'Day selling 10,000 shares of Gilead stock, reflecting a 1.62% decrease in his position.

Howard Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 20.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,392 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 8,530 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $3,742,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased 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 buying an additional 2,450 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 45,205 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,030,000 after buying an additional 2,983 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 183.4% in the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 14,933 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,379,000 after buying an additional 9,664 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 392.0% in the 4th quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 19,434 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,795,000 after buying an additional 15,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,929,372 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $270,586,000 after buying an additional 688,018 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.74, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.45, for a total transaction of $1,104,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 615,725 shares of the company's stock, valued at $68,006,826.25. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,000 shares of company stock worth $8,984,175 over the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on GILD. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.36.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ GILD traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $112.25. The company had a trading volume of 665,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,396,990. The company has a market capitalization of $139.63 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $72.43 and a one year high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences 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.