Here’s What Hedge Funds Think About Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD)

Gilead Sciences is one of the favorite biotech stocks among smart money investors. Among the funds tracked by Insider Monkey it is the most popular biotech company and the 89 funds that held shares at the end of September amassed $4.52 billion worth of stock, which represents around 3.10% of the company’s outstanding stock.

The stock has declined by nearly 15% over the last 52 weeks amid a broader market sell-off and turmoil in the biotech industry in particular, which was affected by scrutiny over drug-pricing policies. Nevertheless, Gilead last reported better-than-expected earnings of $3.32 per share, compared to estimates of $3.00 as the sales of its key products, Hepatitis C drugs Harvoni and Sovaldi registered strong sales in Japan during the fourth quarter. In this way, the company’s revenue surged to $8.51 billion in the last quarter, compared to $7.31 billion a year earlier and topped the expectations of $8.14 billion.

Gilead was also in the middle of the recent scrutiny of the biotech industry as the company, which currently controls 90% of the market for Hepatitis C treatments. The company was accused that the prices of its Sovaldi and Harvoni courses are too high, but it refuted the claims and said that it is working with patients that cannot afford to pay for the treatment and is committed to expand access to the drugs.

With all of this in mind, let’s go over the fresh action surrounding Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD).