Prospera Financial Services Inc Buys 16,678 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 26.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,615 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after purchasing an additional 16,678 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc's holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $6,591,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 23.7% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 121,072 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $8,868,000 after acquiring an additional 23,213 shares during the last quarter. Natixis raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 40.5% during the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 152,226 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $11,151,000 after buying an additional 43,916 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter worth $250,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter worth about $141,000. Finally, Payden & Rygel Investment Group purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 1st quarter worth about $196,000. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Maxim Group cut Gilead Sciences from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $105.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.00.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD traded up $0.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $88.63. The company had a trading volume of 4,553,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,105,782. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market cap of $110.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 975.00, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.17. The company's 50-day moving average price is $86.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.44. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a one year low of $62.07 and a one year high of $98.90.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.48%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is presently 3,422.22%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $2,459,529.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. This trade represents a 27.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total transaction of $2,341,485.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 99,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,113,308.50. The trade was a 20.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,947 shares of company stock valued at $4,968,674 over the last 90 days. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.