Ethic Inc. Buys 9,688 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 103,445 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,688 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $15,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. PFS Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 101.1% in the 3rd quarter. PFS Partners LLC now owns 191 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Gilead Sciences

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

• Positive Sentiment: New HIV-prevention data showed twice-yearly lenacapavir achieved nearly twice the one-year treatment persistence of daily oral F/TDF, a result that could support Gilead’s long-acting HIV-prevention strategy. Article: New Data Show Twice-Yearly Lenacapavir Achieved Nearly Twice the One-Year Persistence
• Positive Sentiment: In the Phase 3 IDEAL study, Livdelzi (seladelpar) achieved ALP normalization in about 75% of participants with primary biliary cholangitis. The results may strengthen its case for broader second-line use, although the stock reportedly fell following the update. Article: Gilead’s Livdelzi Achieves 75% ALP Normalization
• Positive Sentiment: Recent third-quarter results beat analyst estimates for earnings and revenue, and Gilead raised full-year product-sales guidance. The company also maintained its quarterly dividend at $0.82 per share. Article: Did Earnings Beat Just Shift Gilead Sciences’ Investment Narrative?
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Daniel O’Day sold more than 112,000 shares across November 4–5, but the transactions were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. He retained 551,683 shares, which may temper concerns about the sales. SEC Form 4 filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Zacks Research lowered Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $184.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $165.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.15.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ GILD opened at $166.89 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $116.88 and a 1 year high of $176.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.00 billion, a PE ratio of -52.81 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.84, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business’s 50-day moving average is $153.04 and its 200 day moving average is $140.94.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.36. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 1.85% and a negative net margin of 12.47%. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.47 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -1.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is -103.80%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total transaction of $725,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,459,771.32. This represents a 33.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total value of $3,853,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 118,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,273,727.76. The trade was a 19.15% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders have sold 239,310 shares of company stock worth $38,945,617 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious diseases. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, the company focuses on antiviral therapies, including treatments and preventive medicines for HIV and medicines for viral hepatitis. Its products include Biktarvy for HIV and Epclusa for hepatitis C.

Gilead also develops medicines in areas such as oncology and inflammatory diseases. Its portfolio includes Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral medicine used to treat COVID-19.