Meritage Portfolio Management Cuts Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Meritage Portfolio Management reduced its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,876 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after selling 3,727 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $5,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 3,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Bank lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% during the third quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 9,397 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on GILD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Bank of America restated a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.39.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD traded down $2.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $96.04. 7,182,199 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,866,207. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.26. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $100.51. The business's 50-day moving average price is $93.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,067.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. The firm had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.01 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.29 EPS. Analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 80,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,427,227.92. This represents a 67.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total value of $13,822,739.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,626,253.06. The trade was a 52.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 572,824 shares of company stock valued at $53,611,715 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Gilead Sciences

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.