Plato Investment Management Ltd Cuts Stock Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Plato Investment Management Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 24.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,482 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 15,097 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $5,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 284,243 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $26,750,000 after buying an additional 14,009 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 14.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 863 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7.7% in the first quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 430,424 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $48,229,000 after acquiring an additional 30,630 shares in the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $1,699,000. Finally, ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the first quarter valued at $11,688,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GILD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Daiwa America upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $96.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $133.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $128.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $115.39.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $115.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $113.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $109.99. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $78.73 and a twelve month high of $121.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market capitalization of $143.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.36.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.05. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 21.86% and a return on equity of 50.99%. The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 7.950-8.250 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 29th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 62.95%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.53, for a total value of $296,325.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 160,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,977,838.30. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.74, for a total transaction of $548,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 8,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $978,880.80. This trade represents a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 82,000 shares of company stock worth $9,371,330. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Profile

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.