Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Trims Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its Gilead Sciences stake by 8.2% in the second quarter, selling 46,125 shares and retaining 519,677 shares valued at approximately $65.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.67% of Gilead’s stock.
• Wall Street remains broadly positive, with 24 analysts rating Gilead a Buy and five a Hold; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with a $158.04 price target.
• Gilead reported quarterly revenue of $7.80 billion, up 10.6% year over year and above estimates, while recent HIV and oncology approvals support future growth. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, representing a 2.2% annualized yield.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lessened its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 519,677 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 46,125 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $65,656,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $15,393,785,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $2,617,152,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at $1,316,606,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth about $918,387,000. Finally, Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $517,808,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on GILD shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $157.00 to $156.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 15th. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $158.04.

Trending Headlines about Gilead Sciences

Here are the key news stories impacting Gilead Sciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Bixlenvo, Gilead’s once-daily single-tablet HIV regimen combining bictegravir and lenacapavir. It is the first and only single-tablet option for virologically suppressed adults on complex treatment regimens who cannot use currently available alternatives. The approval could broaden Gilead’s HIV franchise and supports its strategy of using lenacapavir in long-term HIV treatment and prevention. Reuters FDA approval article
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission approved Trodelvy plus Keytruda for certain first-line metastatic triple-negative breast cancer patients. The label expansion strengthens Gilead’s oncology franchise and provides another potential source of revenue growth beyond its core HIV business. EU Trodelvy approval article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent investor commentary points to continued optimism around Gilead’s HIV prevention medicines, including the potential growth of its PrEP portfolio. Analysts and investors also view the stock as potentially undervalued relative to its fundamentals despite a strong five-year performance, which may support further interest. Gilead HIV catalyst article
• Neutral Sentiment: Gilead will present at the Wells Fargo, Cantor and Morgan Stanley healthcare conferences in September. These events could provide updates on Bixlenvo, HIV prevention, Trodelvy and the broader pipeline, but they do not create an immediate change to financial results. Gilead investor conferences announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares worth approximately $2.68 million, reducing his holdings by about 58%. The transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which makes it a weaker bearish signal than a discretionary insider sale, but it may still modestly weigh on sentiment. SEC insider transaction filing

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of GILD opened at $148.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $133.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.55. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.46 and a 12-month high of $157.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $184.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.75 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The business had revenue of $7.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is presently -122.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.62, for a total transaction of $2,675,160.00. Following the sale, the director owned 12,894 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,916,306.28. This trade represents a 58.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total value of $1,954,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 592,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $77,160,851.23. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 105,000 shares of company stock worth $14,238,120. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead's product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.

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