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

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) was the target of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 31,514 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 50% compared to the typical daily volume of 21,054 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total value of $406,150.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 114,979 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,506,146.42. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.63, for a total value of $137,260.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 96,380 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,614,559.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Johanna Mercier sold 5,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.98, for a total value of $406,150.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 114,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,506,146.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GILD. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $1,649,000. Gilbert & Cook Inc. boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 6,791 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $550,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,473 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $443,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at $561,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Gilead Sciences by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,313 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $511,000 after purchasing an additional 2,024 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on GILD. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upgraded Gilead Sciences to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on Gilead Sciences from $82.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.06.

Gilead Sciences Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD opened at $80.94 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 224.83, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.72. Gilead Sciences has a 52-week low of $62.07 and a 52-week high of $87.86.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $6.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.64 billion. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 3.79%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 3.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is 855.56%.

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.