Optas LLC Buys Shares of 2,597 Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Optas LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,597 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $240,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $254,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 400,819 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $33,645,000 after buying an additional 51,390 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 253,618 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $21,263,000 after buying an additional 16,209 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 53.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,273 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,281,000 after buying an additional 5,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 33,436 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $2,803,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD traded down $2.00 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $96.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,182,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,866,207. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,067.11, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $93.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.65. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $100.51. 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 (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. The business 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total value of $23,064,310.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 138,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,886,126.44. The trade was a 64.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 80,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,427,227.92. This trade represents a 67.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 572,824 shares of company stock valued at $53,611,715. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Maxim Group downgraded Gilead Sciences from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.39.

Gilead Sciences Profile

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.