China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 218,445 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Gilead Sciences makes up 1.9% of China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Gilead Sciences were worth $20,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 79.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,162,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,780,329,000 after purchasing an additional 14,680,161 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,900,921,000 after acquiring an additional 11,665,593 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 723.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,434,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $594,370,000 after acquiring an additional 5,653,075 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 350.1% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,305,270 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $193,274,000 after acquiring an additional 1,793,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 8,238.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,642,504 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $137,708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622,806 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on GILD shares. Barclays boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Gilead Sciences from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $87.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 price target on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $98.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total value of $15,094,275.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 80,801 shares in the company, valued at $7,427,227.92. The trade was a 67.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total transaction of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,863,898.55. This trade represents a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 456,234 shares of company stock worth $42,130,461 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD opened at $97.20 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $121.14 billion, a PE ratio of 1,080.00, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences, Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $98.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $92.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.77.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.00% and a net margin of 0.45%. The firm had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.29 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Gilead Sciences, Inc. will post 4.36 earnings per share for the current year.

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.