Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Purchases Shares of 46,429 Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 46,429 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,866,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Quattro Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 60.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Bixlenvo, Gilead’s once-daily single-tablet HIV regimen combining bictegravir and lenacapavir. It is the first and only single-tablet option for virologically suppressed adults on complex treatment regimens who cannot use currently available alternatives. The approval could broaden Gilead’s HIV franchise and supports its strategy of using lenacapavir in long-term HIV treatment and prevention. Reuters FDA approval article
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission approved Trodelvy plus Keytruda for certain first-line metastatic triple-negative breast cancer patients. The label expansion strengthens Gilead’s oncology franchise and provides another potential source of revenue growth beyond its core HIV business. EU Trodelvy approval article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent investor commentary points to continued optimism around Gilead’s HIV prevention medicines, including the potential growth of its PrEP portfolio. Analysts and investors also view the stock as potentially undervalued relative to its fundamentals despite a strong five-year performance, which may support further interest. Gilead HIV catalyst article
• Neutral Sentiment: Gilead will present at the Wells Fargo, Cantor and Morgan Stanley healthcare conferences in September. These events could provide updates on Bixlenvo, HIV prevention, Trodelvy and the broader pipeline, but they do not create an immediate change to financial results. Gilead investor conferences announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares worth approximately $2.68 million, reducing his holdings by about 58%. The transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which makes it a weaker bearish signal than a discretionary insider sale, but it may still modestly weigh on sentiment. SEC insider transaction filing

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total transaction of $725,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,459,771.32. The trade was a 33.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total value of $1,954,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 592,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,160,851.23. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 105,000 shares of company stock valued at $14,238,120 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $148.86 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $133.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a market cap of $184.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.75 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.46 and a twelve month high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.01 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently -122.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on GILD shares. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Weiss Ratings cut Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, HSBC raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.