Gilead Sciences Inc. Invests $461.73 Million in Galapagos NV (NASDAQ:GLPG)

Gilead Sciences Inc. bought a new stake in Galapagos NV (NASDAQ:GLPG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 16,707,477 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $461,727,000. Galapagos comprises about 29.8% of Gilead Sciences Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest position. Gilead Sciences Inc. owned 0.25% of Galapagos as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Galapagos by 137.8% in the 4th quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 19,833 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 11,492 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Galapagos by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 296,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $8,143,000 after purchasing an additional 4,421 shares during the last quarter. Finepoint Capital LP boosted its position in Galapagos by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Finepoint Capital LP now owns 674,762 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $18,556,000 after buying an additional 117,000 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Galapagos during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,300,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Galapagos by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 25,852 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 1,431 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 32.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GLPG shares. Barclays reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Galapagos in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Galapagos from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $31.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, TD Cowen cut shares of Galapagos from a “strong-buy” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.33.

Galapagos Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ GLPG opened at $24.66 on Friday. Galapagos NV has a 52-week low of $22.36 and a 52-week high of $31.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $25.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.35.

Galapagos Company Profile

Galapagos NV, a biotechnology company, develops medicines focusing on oncology and immunology primarily in the United States and Europe. The company's pipeline products comprise GLPG3667 that has completed phase 1b trial; GLPG5101, a CD19 CAR-T product candidate manufactured at point-of-care, currently in Phase1/2 trial in relapsed/refractory non-hodgkin lymphoma; GLPG5201, a CD19 CAR-T product candidates manufactured at point-of-care, currently in phase 1/2 trial in replapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia; and GLPG5301, a BCMA CAR-T product candidate manufactured at point-of-care, currently in phase 1/2 in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.