Equitable Holdings Inc. Reduces Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Equitable Holdings Inc. lowered its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,179 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 6,187 shares during the quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $12,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,887 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,724 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Davidson Trust Co. lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 1,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 6,619 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Connections Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. now owns 328 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Key Gilead Sciences News

Here are the key news stories impacting Gilead Sciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Bixlenvo, Gilead’s once-daily single-tablet HIV regimen combining bictegravir and lenacapavir. It is the first and only single-tablet option for virologically suppressed adults on complex treatment regimens who cannot use currently available alternatives. The approval could broaden Gilead’s HIV franchise and supports its strategy of using lenacapavir in long-term HIV treatment and prevention. Reuters FDA approval article
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission approved Trodelvy plus Keytruda for certain first-line metastatic triple-negative breast cancer patients. The label expansion strengthens Gilead’s oncology franchise and provides another potential source of revenue growth beyond its core HIV business. EU Trodelvy approval article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent investor commentary points to continued optimism around Gilead’s HIV prevention medicines, including the potential growth of its PrEP portfolio. Analysts and investors also view the stock as potentially undervalued relative to its fundamentals despite a strong five-year performance, which may support further interest. Gilead HIV catalyst article
• Neutral Sentiment: Gilead will present at the Wells Fargo, Cantor and Morgan Stanley healthcare conferences in September. These events could provide updates on Bixlenvo, HIV prevention, Trodelvy and the broader pipeline, but they do not create an immediate change to financial results. Gilead investor conferences announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares worth approximately $2.68 million, reducing his holdings by about 58%. The transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which makes it a weaker bearish signal than a discretionary insider sale, but it may still modestly weigh on sentiment. SEC insider transaction filing

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ GILD opened at $148.86 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.46 and a 52-week high of $157.29. The company has a fifty day moving average of $133.81 and a 200-day moving average of $136.55. The company has a market capitalization of $184.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -55.75 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.27.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The business had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.01 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is -122.85%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.62, for a total transaction of $2,675,160.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,916,306.28. This trade represents a 58.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total transaction of $725,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,459,771.32. The trade was a 33.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 105,000 shares of company stock worth $14,238,120 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GILD. HSBC raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $155.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings cut Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $157.00 to $156.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Twenty-four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.04.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.