Gilead Sciences Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:GILD)

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 25,184 call options on the company. This is an increase of 49% compared to the average volume of 16,897 call options.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

GILD traded down $1.05 on Thursday, reaching $108.80. The company had a trading volume of 4,275,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,668,882. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $70.78 and a fifty-two week high of $119.96. The stock has a market cap of $135.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.29. The company's fifty day moving average is $108.37 and its 200 day moving average is $104.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.37.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 20.76% and a return on equity of 51.93%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.32) EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is 66.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on GILD. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $125.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $132.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $111.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.03, for a total transaction of $277,575.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,610 shares in the company, valued at $18,054,588.30. This trade represents a 1.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.74, for a total transaction of $548,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 8,920 shares in the company, valued at approximately $978,880.80. The trade was a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 72,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,844,775. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 14,359 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $1,326,000 after buying an additional 2,450 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $339,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,399 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 97.6% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 334,737 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $30,920,000 after purchasing an additional 165,374 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choate Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 9,722 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $898,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Gilead Sciences Company 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.