AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 606,168 Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 32.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,470,838 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after buying an additional 606,168 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $272,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,150,268,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 314.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,703,103 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,647,484,000 after acquiring an additional 11,156,382 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,521,228 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,499,098,000 after purchasing an additional 3,394,330 shares in the last quarter. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new position in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at about $238,083,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,364,226 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $13,233,912,000 after buying an additional 1,893,401 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GILD shares. Argus upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $133.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 13th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $147.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $131.13.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $120.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $149.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.71. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.57 and a 12-month high of $128.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.16 by $0.31. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 27.88% and a return on equity of 51.86%. The firm had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently 48.99%.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.86, for a total transaction of $3,524,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 107,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,491,310.98. This trade represents a 20.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kelly A. Kramer sold 2,806 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.11, for a total transaction of $356,670.66. Following the sale, the director owned 1,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $170,200.29. This trade represents a 67.70% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 135,757 shares of company stock worth $16,616,127. Company 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.