UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Cuts Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lowered its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 1.6% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,986,591 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 212,512 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $1,640,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $15,393,785,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 60,240,518 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,393,921,000 after acquiring an additional 1,151,213 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 27,698,660 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,399,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,269 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 15.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 23,121,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,837,948,000 after acquiring an additional 3,046,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,617,152,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $157.00 to $156.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Twenty-four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.04.

Key Stories Impacting Gilead Sciences

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

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA approved Bixlenvo, a once-daily single-tablet regimen combining bictegravir and lenacapavir for virologically suppressed adults with HIV. It is the first and only single-tablet option for patients on complex regimens who cannot use currently available alternatives, potentially expanding Gilead’s HIV franchise and supporting its longer-term lenacapavir strategy. Reuters FDA approval article
• Positive Sentiment: The European Commission approved Trodelvy plus Keytruda for certain first-line metastatic triple-negative breast cancer patients, strengthening Gilead’s oncology portfolio and adding a potential growth opportunity outside its core HIV business. EU Trodelvy approval article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of approximately $158. However, GILD’s strong multi-year advance may have raised expectations and limited the immediate upside from the Bixlenvo approval. Gilead valuation article
• Negative Sentiment: Director Anthony Welters sold 18,000 shares worth about $2.68 million, reducing his position by roughly 58%. The sale occurred under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, making it a limited bearish signal, but it may still weigh modestly on investor sentiment. SEC insider transaction filing

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $145.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.62. The stock has a market cap of $180.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -54.56 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.46 and a 12-month high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently -122.85%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total transaction of $3,853,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 118,234 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,273,727.76. The trade was a 19.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 shares were sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total value 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. This represents a 33.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 105,000 shares of company stock worth $14,238,120. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

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.