Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) Shares Purchased by Banco Santander S.A.

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 12.9% in the first quarter, owning 159,844 shares valued at approximately $17.9 million.
• Several institutional investors also made significant changes, with Core Alternative Capital boosting its position by 370.8% during the same period.
• Analysts adjusted their price targets for Gilead, with Morgan Stanley raising it to $135 and Needham & Company upgrading the stock from "hold" to "buy."

Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 12.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 159,844 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 18,269 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $17,911,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 40,319,432 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $3,724,306,000 after purchasing an additional 7,157,113 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 13,891.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,550,298 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $285,761,000 after purchasing an additional 2,532,070 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,915,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,377,707,000 after purchasing an additional 2,458,954 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 422.6% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 2,523,036 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $282,706,000 after purchasing an additional 2,040,261 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,678,751 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $801,655,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005,863 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $133.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $112.36.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 0.8%

GILD stock traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $113.18. The stock had a trading volume of 5,016,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,536,027. The firm has a market cap of $140.79 billion, a PE ratio of 23.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.23. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $72.43 and a 12-month high of $119.96. The company's 50-day moving average price is $110.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.91.

Insider Activity

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.03, for a total value of $277,575.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,054,588.30. The trade was a 1.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.74, for a total transaction of $548,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at $978,880.80. The trade was a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $8,984,175 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.