Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD)

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders bought 12,503 call options on the company. This is an increase of 54% compared to the typical volume of 8,104 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Maxim Group upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $165.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Leerink Partners lowered shares of Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $146.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.78.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 28,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.64, for a total transaction of $3,853,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 118,234 shares in the company, valued at $16,273,727.76. The trade was a 19.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.36, for a total value of $415,080.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 165,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,918,780.56. This represents a 1.78% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 99,000 shares of company stock worth $13,747,860 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 71.4% in the fourth quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 204 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of GILD stock traded up $2.06 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $145.78. 1,164,702 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,909,058. The stock has a market cap of $180.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -54.62 and a beta of 0.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $138.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.19. Gilead Sciences has a 52-week low of $108.46 and a 52-week high of $157.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($7.25) by $0.50. Gilead Sciences had a negative net margin of 10.64% and a negative return on equity of 2.11%. The business had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.01 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post -0.48 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -122.85%.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. The company’s research focuses primarily on virology, oncology, inflammation and related areas, with products serving patients in the United States and international markets.

Gilead is best known for its HIV treatments, including Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy and other antiretroviral therapies. Its portfolio also includes medicines for viral hepatitis, such as Epclusa and Vemlidy, and Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral treatment for COVID-19.