Arizona State Retirement System Raises Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 344,415 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,491 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $43,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total value of $725,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,459,771.32. This trade represents a 33.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 165,646 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,918,780.56. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 105,000 shares of company stock worth $14,495,820. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 2.9%

GILD stock traded down $4.35 on Tuesday, hitting $146.64. 6,079,876 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,978,380. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -54.92 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business’s fifty day moving average is $137.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.36. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.46 and a twelve month high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The business had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.01 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.48 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -122.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GILD. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays reduced their price target on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 27th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $146.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.04.

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.