Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Sells 7,100 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 158,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 7,100 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $14,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 101.9% in the third quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new position in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total transaction of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $11,863,898.55. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total transaction of $15,094,275.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 80,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,427,227.92. The trade was a 67.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 572,824 shares of company stock worth $53,611,715 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD opened at $96.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $93.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.99. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $100.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.82 billion, a PE ratio of 1,068.22, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. Equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.39.

About Gilead Sciences

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.