Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Position Lessened by Needham Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Needham Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. by 10.2%, selling 6,500 shares, resulting in ownership of 57,500 shares valued at approximately $6.44 million.
• Gilead Sciences reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.01, beating expectations and noting a 1.4% increase in revenue year-over-year to $7.08 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.79 per share, translating to an annual yield of 2.7%, with the payout ratio currently at 62.95%.

Needham Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 10.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,500 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 6,500 shares during the quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $6,443,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,470,825 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $13,162,606,000 after buying an additional 1,942,433 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 314.6% during the first 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 buying an additional 11,156,382 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 12,234,672 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,130,117,000 after buying an additional 1,605,730 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,678,751 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $801,655,000 after buying an additional 2,005,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the first quarter valued at approximately $620,415,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $69,016,306.50. This represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The shares were 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 $978,880.80. This trade represents a 35.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,371,330. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD stock traded up $1.74 on Thursday, reaching $116.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,839,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,098,389. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.57 and a 52 week high of $121.83. The company has a market capitalization of $145.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $113.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $110.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 prior year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter 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, analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the topic of several research reports. Truist Financial upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $108.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Dbs Bank upgraded Gilead Sciences to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Daiwa Capital Markets raised Gilead Sciences from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $128.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $115.39.

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.