Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV Invests $1.79 Million in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 19,354 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,788,000. Gilead Sciences comprises approximately 1.6% of Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $1,789,254,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,900,921,000 after acquiring an additional 11,665,593 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 723.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,434,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $594,370,000 after acquiring an additional 5,653,075 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $207,340,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 350.1% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,305,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $193,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,793,145 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $123.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $105.12.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $112.05 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $105.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.07 and a 1 year high of $119.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 302.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. As a group, research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 854.05%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 142,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.22, for a total transaction of $13,822,739.60. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $12,626,253.06. The trade was a 52.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 302,785 shares of company stock valued at $30,503,250. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.