Rakuten Securities Inc. Takes Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 410 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 1,856 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $159,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 11,894 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Etesian Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 18,318 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 8,862 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,607 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ GILD opened at $66.16 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.70, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.19. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $65.90 and a fifty-two week high of $87.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.04). Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 38.85%. The business had revenue of $7.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. Gilead Sciences’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 6.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 68.44%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.18, for a total value of $146,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 100,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,386,496.48. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GILD shares. Mizuho cut their target price on Gilead Sciences from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Barclays cut their target price on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.71.

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.