Simplify Asset Management Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Simplify Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 96,202 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $8,066,000. Gilead Sciences makes up approximately 0.4% of Simplify Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at $25,328,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 0.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,414,268 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $851,743,000 after acquiring an additional 93,068 shares in the last quarter. IRON Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the third quarter worth $830,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 13.1% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 286,116 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $19,630,000 after acquiring an additional 33,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 127.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 213,901 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $15,668,000 after acquiring an additional 119,909 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GILD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $75.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Gilead Sciences to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.86.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.83, for a total transaction of $167,660.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 100,189 shares in the company, valued at $8,398,843.87. This trade represents a 1.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total value of $2,459,529.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at $6,545,480.06. The trade was a 27.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,947 shares of company stock valued at $4,968,674 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD traded down $3.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $88.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,453,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,102,436. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $98.90. The firm's 50 day moving average is $86.49 and its 200-day moving average is $75.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $110.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,007.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.17.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.29 EPS. Gilead Sciences's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

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

Gilead Sciences Company 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.