Swiss National Bank Has $507.45 Million Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank increased its Gilead Sciences stake by 7.1% in Q1, ending with 3.64 million shares valued at about $507.4 million.
• Wall Street remains generally positive on GILD, with 26 Buy ratings and a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating; the average price target is $159.04.
• Gilead reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $2.03 topping estimates and revenue rising 4.4% year over year, while the company also paid a $0.82 quarterly dividend yielding about 2.4% annualized.

Swiss National Bank lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,641,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock after buying an additional 240,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of Gilead Sciences worth $507,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Paulson Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,887 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 7,724 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Davidson Trust Co. increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 4.1% during the first quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 1,879 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 6,619 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $812,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC now owns 4,572 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $561,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on GILD. Maxim Group raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Weiss Ratings cut Gilead Sciences from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $168.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Twenty-six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $159.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 15,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.29, for a total transaction of $1,894,350.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 607,133 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $76,674,826.57. This trade represents a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.29, for a total value of $3,676,120.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 125,779 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,513,524.91. This trade represents a 18.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 77,000 shares of company stock worth $9,978,740. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $134.28 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $129.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.29 and a beta of 0.32. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $107.75 and a fifty-two week high of $157.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.97 and a quick ratio of 1.77.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.12. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 30.99% and a return on equity of 48.19%. The company had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.81 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050--0.650 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.69%.

Gilead Sciences Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead's product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.

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