Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Gilead Sciences Call Options (NASDAQ:GILD)

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders bought 22,722 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 50% compared to the typical daily volume of 15,175 call options.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $107.72 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $134.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 291.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.26. Gilead Sciences has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $119.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a current ratio of 1.50. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $105.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.07.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.77 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.32) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on GILD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $116.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $80.00 to $120.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $110.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 17,929 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.17, for a total value of $2,118,669.93. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 169,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,977,938.37. This trade represents a 9.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 22,929 shares of company stock valued at $2,634,220 in the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GILD. Redwood Financial Network Corp lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 2,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Argentarii LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Argentarii LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $380,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,040 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $677,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Perkins Coie Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Perkins Coie Trust Co now owns 3,880 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

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.