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

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Traders purchased 34,453 call options on the company. This is an increase of 137% compared to the average volume of 14,531 call options.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GILD traded down $1.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $111.44. 8,645,077 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,230,110. The company has a market cap of $138.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 301.19, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.21. The business's fifty day moving average price is $101.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Gilead Sciences has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $119.96.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 31.63% and a net margin of 1.67%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences's dividend payout ratio is 854.05%.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.35, for a total transaction of $228,375.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 129,873 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,863,898.55. The trade was a 1.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 311,285 shares of company stock valued at $31,284,910 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Redwood Financial Network Corp boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Redwood Financial Network Corp now owns 2,530 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 2.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.2% during the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,422 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $782,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 3,128 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Asset Management LLC VA raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 3.8% during the third quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA now owns 3,056 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on GILD shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Gilead Sciences currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $104.52.

About Gilead Sciences

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.