Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Takes $26.34 Million Position in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 208,515 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,344,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 71.4% during the fourth quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Quattro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 60.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC now owns 216 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.02, for a total transaction of $725,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,459,771.32. This trade represents a 33.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total value of $1,954,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 592,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,160,851.23. The trade was a 2.47% 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. Insiders sold a total of 87,000 shares of company stock worth $11,562,960 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.9%

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $146.12 on Friday. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.46 and a 12-month high of $157.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $181.18 billion, a PE ratio of -54.73 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.59.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. The firm had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.01 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post -0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -122.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $155.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Weiss Ratings lowered Gilead Sciences from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $155.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, HSBC raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $133.00 to $155.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Twenty-four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.04.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.