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

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 165,669 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,115% compared to the average daily volume of 13,634 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GILD. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Gilead Sciences to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Gilead Sciences from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $147.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.13.

Insider Activity

In other Gilead Sciences news, Director Kelly A. Kramer sold 2,806 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.11, for a total value of $356,670.66. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $170,200.29. The trade was a 67.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.39, for a total transaction of $1,193,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 581,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,389,826.17. This represents a 1.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 135,757 shares of company stock worth $16,616,127. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Trivium Point Advisory LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.1% in the third quarter. Trivium Point Advisory LLC now owns 7,325 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $813,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 785 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $87,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 4,539 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in Gilead Sciences by 9.3% during the third quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 998 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ignite Planners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 7,932 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $880,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. 83.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Gilead Sciences Price Performance

Shares of Gilead Sciences stock opened at $120.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.45. Gilead Sciences has a 52-week low of $88.57 and a 52-week high of $128.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $121.89 and a 200-day moving average of $115.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.32.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 27.88% and a return on equity of 51.86%. The business had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.99%.

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.