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

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 16,698 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 38% compared to the typical volume of 12,087 call options.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ GILD traded down $0.08 on Friday, reaching $109.95. 9,729,048 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,379,648. Gilead Sciences has a fifty-two week low of $62.07 and a fifty-two week high of $111.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.41 and a 200 day moving average of $88.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.50, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.03 billion, a PE ratio of 297.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.18.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.90 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.23. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 1.67% and a return on equity of 31.63%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. This is a boost from Gilead Sciences's previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Gilead Sciences's payout ratio is presently 832.43%.

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.09, for a total transaction of $260,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 169,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,597,559.49. This trade represents a 1.46 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Merdad Parsey sold 164,211 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.92, for a total value of $15,094,275.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 80,801 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,427,227.92. The trade was a 67.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 713,000 shares of company stock worth $67,945,181 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Gilead Sciences

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GILD. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Gilead Sciences in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 154 shares during the period. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Gilead Sciences by 101.9% during the 3rd quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 319 shares of the biopharmaceutical company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GILD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $84.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Maxim Group downgraded shares of Gilead Sciences from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $125.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $102.08.

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.