Arizona State Retirement System Raises Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 344,415 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,491 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $43,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 71.4% during the 4th quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock traded down $4.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $146.64. 6,079,876 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,978,380. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.36. The firm has a market cap of $181.83 billion, a PE ratio of -54.92 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1-year low of $108.46 and a 1-year high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total value of $725,100.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,459,771.32. This represents a 33.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.36, for a total transaction of $415,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 165,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,918,780.56. This trade represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 105,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,495,820. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. 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. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Gilead Sciences from $157.00 to $156.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.04.

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.