41,571 Shares in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD Acquired by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 41,571 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,252,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GILD. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,887 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,724 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $948,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Davidson Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 1,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 6,619 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.40, for a total value of $376,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 171,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,524,408.40. This trade represents a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total value of $1,971,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 617,567 shares in the company, valued at $81,185,357.82. This represents a 2.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 51,000 shares of company stock worth $6,568,860. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Leerink Partners cut Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $146.00 to $127.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, HSBC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.04.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD stock opened at $138.92 on Tuesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $108.46 and a one year high of $157.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $130.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.25 billion, a PE ratio of -52.03 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The business had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently -122.85%.

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.