Vontobel Holding Ltd. Acquires 394,567 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 192.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 599,860 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 394,567 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $66,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 2,837.5% in the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 235 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. GoalVest Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7,566.7% during the 2nd quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 230 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Harbor Asset Planning Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Putney Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 53.4% in the 2nd quarter. Putney Financial Group LLC now owns 270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GILD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets set a $135.00 price objective on Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.54.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 0.8%

GILD opened at $125.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $88.57 and a one year high of $128.70. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $122.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.86% and a net margin of 27.88%.The firm had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 48.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Deborah H. Telman sold 53,646 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.85, for a total value of $6,590,411.10. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 43,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,365,596.60. This represents a 55.12% 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, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.86, for a total value of $3,524,080.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 107,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,491,310.98. This trade represents a 20.71% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 136,257 shares of company stock worth $16,723,492. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Gilead Sciences

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.