Trust Co. of Vermont Makes New Investment in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 12,339 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,559,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Aviva PLC grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 1,156,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $141,978,000 after purchasing an additional 59,782 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth about $1,418,000. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 150.3% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 17,147 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,105,000 after purchasing an additional 10,296 shares during the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 105,740 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $12,978,000 after buying an additional 42,243 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 106,526 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,075,000 after buying an additional 13,385 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $143.44 on Wednesday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.46 and a fifty-two week high of $157.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $130.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -53.72 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. The company had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.53 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently -122.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GILD shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Maxim Group upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.04.

Key Stories Impacting Gilead Sciences

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

• Positive Sentiment: A federal appeals court blocked companies from importing and selling cheaper foreign versions of Biktarvy in the United States. The ruling helps protect revenue from Gilead’s leading HIV treatment and removes a potential competitive and pricing threat. Gilead stock court ruling on Biktarvy imports
• Positive Sentiment: Gilead’s HIV franchise remains the primary growth engine. Biktarvy continues to lead treatment, while the newer Yeztugo product and additional pipeline programs could expand the company’s prevention and treatment opportunities. Is Gilead’s Expanding HIV Portfolio a Growth Catalyst?
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from The Motley Fool highlighted Gilead as an underappreciated healthcare turnaround story, citing double-digit quarterly revenue growth, strong HIV sales, acquisitions, and an expanding oncology portfolio. This supports investor optimism about longer-term diversification beyond HIV. Gilead Sciences turnaround story
• Neutral Sentiment: Gilead is participating in a highly competitive antibody-drug conjugate oncology market. The company’s technology and patent position may create future opportunities, but the landscape also involves substantial competition and development risk. Cancer and antibody-drug conjugates patent landscape
• Negative Sentiment: Chief Commercial Officer Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares worth approximately $3.85 million. Because the transaction occurred under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, it is a limited signal about management’s outlook, though insider selling can still weigh modestly on sentiment.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider owned 118,234 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,273,727.76. The trade was a 19.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.36, for a total value of $415,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 165,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,918,780.56. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 82,000 shares of company stock worth $10,837,860. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.