Gilead Sciences Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:GILD)

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 16,698 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 38% compared to the typical volume of 12,087 call options.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

GILD stock opened at $110.03 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $95.05 and a 200-day moving average of $88.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $137.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 297.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 0.18. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $62.07 and a 12 month high of $110.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 7.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 832.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on GILD shares. DZ Bank upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $108.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $113.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $109.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $102.08.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total value of $228,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 129,873 shares in the company, valued at $11,863,898.55. This represents a 1.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $815,198.80. This trade represents a 43.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 713,000 shares of company stock valued at $67,945,181 over the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of GILD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,789,254,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 79.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 33,162,319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $2,780,329,000 after buying an additional 14,680,161 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 50.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 34,600,676 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $2,900,921,000 after acquiring an additional 11,665,593 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Gilead Sciences by 723.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,434,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $594,370,000 after acquiring an additional 5,653,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Gilead Sciences by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 14,915,095 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,377,707,000 after purchasing an additional 2,458,954 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% 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.