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

Key Points

• Unusual options activity hit Gilead Sciences, with investors buying 15,097 call options on Thursday, about 57% above the stock’s average daily call volume.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive: Gilead has 25 Buy ratings and 4 Hold ratings, with a consensus Moderate Buy and an average price target of $156.93.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, posting $2.03 EPS versus $1.91 expected, and it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share payable June 29.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 15,097 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 57% compared to the average daily volume of 9,592 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GILD shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Gilead Sciences from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Maxim Group raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Tuesday. Twenty-five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.93.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.27, for a total transaction of $396,810.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,191 shares in the company, valued at $22,907,973.57. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O'day sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.46, for a total value of $1,971,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 617,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $81,185,357.82. This trade represents a 2.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $9,047,570. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GILD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter valued at $2,617,152,000. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $517,808,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3,763.8% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,223,304 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $518,368,000 after buying an additional 4,113,999 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 23,121,620 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $2,837,948,000 after buying an additional 3,046,688 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 121,097,336 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $14,863,487,000 after acquiring an additional 2,113,692 shares during the period. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GILD traded up $4.52 during trading on Thursday, hitting $126.00. 2,357,722 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,950,873. The company has a market capitalization of $156.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 1.97. Gilead Sciences has a 1-year low of $104.46 and a 1-year high of $157.29. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $133.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.34.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.12. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 30.99% and a return on equity of 48.19%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.81 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2026 guidance at -1.050--0.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post -0.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 29th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.69%.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead's product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.

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