Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Sells 8,871 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lowered its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 61.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,464 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 8,871 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 3,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Bank increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Berkshire Bank now owns 3,398 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFB Advisors LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.2% in the third quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 9,397 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $788,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on GILD shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $98.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 transaction of $13,822,739.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,626,253.06. The trade was a 52.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 80,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,427,227.92. This represents a 67.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 572,824 shares of company stock worth $53,611,715. 0.29% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.7 %

GILD stock opened at $99.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.07 and a 52 week high of $100.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,107.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.01 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.