Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Takes $167.11 Million Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & CO. LLC has acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences, purchasing 1,491,377 shares valued at approximately $167.1 million during the first quarter of the year.
• Recent analyst ratings show optimism for Gilead Sciences, with Morgan Stanley raising its price target from $130 to $135 and Truist Financial upgrading the stock from "hold" to "buy."
• Insider transactions indicate some selling activity, with Gilead Sciences' CFO and a director both selling shares, cumulatively worth over $826,000, in recent months.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,491,377 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $167,109,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.12% of Gilead Sciences as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 284,243 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,750,000 after acquiring an additional 14,009 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 14.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 863 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $97,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $1,699,000. Capital International Inc. CA lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 312,209 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $28,839,000 after buying an additional 60,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the first quarter worth about $11,688,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GILD. Truist Financial raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC raised Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $114.82.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.3%

Gilead Sciences stock traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $117.99. 4,347,433 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,328,461. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.33. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $73.27 and a fifty-two week high of $121.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $111.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.50.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.96 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.95 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 50.99% and a net margin of 21.86%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.01 EPS. On average, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is currently 62.95%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.94, for a total transaction of $1,139,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 605,725 shares in the company, valued at $69,016,306.50. The trade was a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.74, for a total value of $548,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 8,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $978,880.80. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 79,500 shares of company stock worth $8,734,625. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.