Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 6,593 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 10,988.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,653 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 6,593 shares during the period. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $738,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GILD. One Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 34.8% during the second quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,163 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 2,364 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 430,424 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $48,229,000 after purchasing an additional 30,630 shares during the last quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC now owns 50,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,544,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 148.6% in the 2nd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,890 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,864,000 after purchasing an additional 31,618 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Management Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth $255,000. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.23, for a total transaction of $313,075.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 154,555 shares in the company, valued at $19,354,922.65. This trade represents a 1.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.86, for a total transaction of $3,524,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 107,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,491,310.98. The trade was a 20.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 115,146 shares of company stock worth $14,012,141 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $125.85 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.57 and a 1 year high of $128.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market cap of $156.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $119.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.49.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.42 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 50.99% and a net margin of 21.86%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. BMO Capital Markets set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.65.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines in the areas of unmet medical need in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company provides Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy, Odefsey, Truvada, Complera/ Eviplera, Stribild, Sunlencs, and Atripla products for the treatment of HIV/AIDS; Veklury, an injection for intravenous use, for the treatment of COVID-19; and Epclusa, Harvoni, Vemlidy, and Viread for the treatment of viral hepatitis.