Avestar Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Avestar Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 28.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,935 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,534 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $581,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 198.3% in the second quarter. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. now owns 358 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 51.6% in the second quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 470 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GILD shares. Maxim Group lowered Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Gilead Sciences from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a report on Thursday, October 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 price objective for the company. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $95.41.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GILD opened at $91.35 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company has a market capitalization of $113.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,015.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $87.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.31. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $98.90.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.01 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3,422.22%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total transaction of $2,341,485.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 99,599 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,113,308.50. The trade was a 20.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of Gilead Sciences 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 transaction, the insider now owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at $6,545,480.06. The trade was a 27.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,947 shares of company stock worth $4,968,674 over the last quarter. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by 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.