a16z Perennial Management L.P. Makes New Investment in Gilead Sciences, Inc. $GILD

a16z Perennial Management L.P. bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 3,614 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock, valued at approximately $401,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the second quarter worth about $2,150,268,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 397.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,748,403 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $748,147,000 after purchasing an additional 5,392,191 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 33.5% during 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 during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 164.4% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,489,062 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $387,286,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,364,226 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $13,233,912,000 after buying an additional 1,893,401 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Gilead Sciences stock opened at $152.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.31. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12 month low of $93.37 and a 12 month high of $153.13. The company has a market cap of $189.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $127.38 and its 200-day moving average is $120.91.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.50, for a total value of $617,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,101,620. This represents a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kelly A. Kramer sold 2,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.10, for a total transaction of $356,515.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,186.90. This represents a 67.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 373,037 shares of company stock valued at $50,731,512 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on GILD shares. Argus boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $151.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Gilead Sciences from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $114.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Gilead Sciences has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $136.73.

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.