Norges Bank Makes New $2.62 Billion Investment in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 21,322,732 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,617,152,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GILD. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,326,000 after buying an additional 2,450 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth approximately $215,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 16.8% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,182 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 12.0% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 118,695 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,160,000 after buying an additional 12,705 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 18.6% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,296 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $516,000 after buying an additional 674 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on GILD shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Daiwa Securities Group decreased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $170.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Twenty-five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.93.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In related news, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.16, for a total value of $1,291,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 632,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $81,702,353.72. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.27, for a total transaction of $396,810.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,191 shares in the company, valued at $22,907,973.57. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 53,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,075,670 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $134.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $166.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $135.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.46 and a twelve month high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.91 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 30.99% and a return on equity of 48.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.81 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050–0.650 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.