Dark Forest Capital Management LP Increases Stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 119.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,072 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,302 shares during the quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 78.8% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,632,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $618,268,000 after buying an additional 3,362,505 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,732,575 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $8,404,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,147 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,630,134 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,509,227,000 after purchasing an additional 2,350,550 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the first quarter valued at approximately $134,489,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 59,657,126 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $4,832,824,000 after purchasing an additional 1,743,418 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on GILD shares. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $2,459,529.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $137,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,380 shares in the company, valued at $6,614,559.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 29,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.78, for a total transaction of $2,459,529.46. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 78,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,545,480.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,847 shares of company stock worth $3,002,940. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of GILD stock opened at $83.61 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $78.05 and its 200 day moving average is $71.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $104.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 232.25, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.07 and a twelve month high of $87.86.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $6.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 3.79% and a return on equity of 29.34%. Research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 3.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is 855.56%.

Gilead Sciences 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.