New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Grows Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 7.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,726 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $7,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Aviva PLC raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 1,156,738 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $141,978,000 after buying an additional 59,782 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,418,000. Bank of Nova Scotia purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter valued at approximately $100,056,000. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $55,754,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 106,526 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,075,000 after acquiring an additional 13,385 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.36, for a total transaction of $415,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 165,646 shares in the company, valued at $22,918,780.56. The trade was a 1.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.62, for a total value of $2,675,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 12,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,916,306.28. This trade represents a 58.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 105,000 shares of company stock worth $14,238,120. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $145.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.46 and a twelve month high of $157.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $180.64 billion, a PE ratio of -54.56 and a beta of 0.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $134.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.62.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share 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 revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is presently -122.85%.

More Gilead Sciences News

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved Bixlenvo, a once-daily single-tablet regimen combining bictegravir and lenacapavir for virologically suppressed adults with HIV. It is the first and only single-tablet option for patients on complex regimens who cannot use currently available alternatives, potentially expanding Gilead’s HIV franchise and supporting its longer-term lenacapavir strategy. Reuters FDA approval article
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission approved Trodelvy plus Keytruda for certain first-line metastatic triple-negative breast cancer patients, strengthening Gilead’s oncology portfolio and adding a potential growth opportunity outside its core HIV business. EU Trodelvy approval article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of approximately $158. However, GILD’s strong multi-year advance may have raised expectations and limited the immediate upside from the Bixlenvo approval. Gilead valuation article
• Negative Sentiment: Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares worth about $2.68 million, reducing his position by roughly 58%. The sale occurred under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, making it a limited bearish signal, but it may still weigh modestly on investor sentiment. SEC insider transaction filing

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn dropped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $170.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Maxim Group upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.