Vestal Point Capital LP Invests $16.77 Million in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 200,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,768,000. Gilead Sciences accounts for about 1.3% of Vestal Point Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GILD. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,328,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 0.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 12,414,268 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $851,743,000 after buying an additional 93,068 shares during the period. IRON Financial LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the third quarter worth $830,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 13.1% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 286,116 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $19,630,000 after buying an additional 33,162 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 127.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 213,901 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $15,668,000 after acquiring an additional 119,909 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 78,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. This represents a 27.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $815,198.80. This trade represents a 43.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 63,735 shares of company stock valued at $5,589,030 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $92.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $115.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,026.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.17. The company’s 50-day moving average is $88.08 and its 200 day moving average is $77.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.26. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $98.90.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The company’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.29 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be paid a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 3,422.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on GILD shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Gilead Sciences from $94.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Leerink Partnrs raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $83.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $105.00 target price on the stock. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.41.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.