Avanza Fonder AB Takes $11.74 Million Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 127,115 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock, valued at approximately $11,742,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 85,804 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $5,887,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 36.1% during the second quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 5,984 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 1,588 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 10.2% during the 2nd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,746 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $1,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,830 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 179,205 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $12,295,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the period. Finally, Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 39,381 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,702,000 after buying an additional 642 shares in the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $74.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 25,590 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.50, for a total value of $2,341,485.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total value of $620,355.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $815,198.80. This represents a 43.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 456,234 shares of company stock worth $42,130,461 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company's stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD traded up $0.19 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $91.84. 6,852,085 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,370,915. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $91.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $83.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $114.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,020.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $98.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion for 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 firm's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.29 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is currently 3,422.22%.

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.