Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 3.7%, bringing its total to 60,532 shares valued at approximately $6.71 million.
• Insiders, including CEO Daniel O'Day and Johanna Mercier, have recently sold shares, indicating a 19.70% decrease in ownership for Mercier and a 1.62% decrease for O'Day.
• Equities analysts have raised Gilead's price targets, with major firms setting targets as high as $145.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook for the stock.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 3.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,532 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 2,169 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $6,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Optas LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 17.1% in the second quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,447 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Fluent Financial LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 55.5% in the second quarter. Fluent Financial LLC now owns 40,148 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $4,451,000 after purchasing an additional 14,326 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 10.8% in the second quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 14,623 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422 shares during the last quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 322.6% in the second quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 9,495 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 7,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Triasima Portfolio Management inc. lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 838.2% in the second quarter. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. now owns 34,666 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,843,000 after purchasing an additional 30,971 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $3,318,840.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 114,168 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,532,333.04. This represents a 19.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 605,725 shares in the company, valued at $69,016,306.50. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,000 shares of company stock worth $9,402,130 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on GILD shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $129.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Daiwa America upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 12th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $118.08.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 1.3%

GILD opened at $116.74 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $144.85 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $84.17 and a 52 week high of $121.83. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $114.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $110.19.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.95 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 50.99% and a net margin of 21.86%.The firm's revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.950-8.250 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

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

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.

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