Mizuho Securities USA LLC Trims Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lessened its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 16.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,731 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 15,329 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $6,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the first quarter valued at $134,489,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 8,238.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,642,504 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622,806 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 7,889,663 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $541,310,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564,792 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $102,298,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 159.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,337,717 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $195,994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437,842 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.4 %

GILD stock opened at $89.84 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $98.90. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $87.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 998.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.17.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.43%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 3,422.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GILD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. This represents a 27.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 100,189 shares in the company, valued at $8,398,843.87. This trade represents a 1.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,947 shares of company stock valued at $4,968,674 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.