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

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors acquired 14,742 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 45% compared to the typical volume of 10,166 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GILD. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $70.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on Gilead Sciences in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $109.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $98.39.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 1.6 %

NASDAQ GILD traded down $1.61 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $98.04. 4,517,842 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,905,398. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,089.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.18. The business's 50 day moving average is $92.86 and its 200-day moving average is $86.41. Gilead Sciences has a 12-month low of $62.07 and a 12-month high of $100.51.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.44. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 0.45% and a return on equity of 29.00%. The business had revenue of $7.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.29 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 6,788 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.39, for a total transaction of $620,355.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,920 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $815,198.80. This represents a 43.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 248,645 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.76, for a total value of $23,064,310.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 138,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,886,126.44. This trade represents a 64.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 572,824 shares of company stock valued at $53,611,715 over the last three months. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GILD. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences in the third quarter valued at $25,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 118.5% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 284 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 101.9% in the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 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.