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

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders acquired 42,588 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 240% compared to the typical volume of 12,513 put options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GILD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $80.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Gilead Sciences from $101.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. HSBC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $69.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Gilead Sciences from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $81.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.57.

Insider Transactions at Gilead Sciences

In related news, insider Merdad Parsey sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.96, for a total value of $145,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,304 shares in the company, valued at $7,026,339.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GILD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter worth $1,301,624,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 78.8% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 7,632,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $618,268,000 after buying an additional 3,362,505 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 179.0% during the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 4,543,985 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $340,526,000 after buying an additional 2,915,141 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 18,630,134 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,509,227,000 after buying an additional 2,350,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 89.0% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 3,764,107 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $304,930,000 after buying an additional 1,772,887 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ GILD traded down $1.53 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $65.55. 4,851,889 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,281,077. The company has a market cap of $81.61 billion, a PE ratio of 14.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.19. Gilead Sciences has a one year low of $65.32 and a one year high of $87.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $71.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $7.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.10 billion. Gilead Sciences had a net margin of 20.89% and a return on equity of 38.85%. The company’s revenue was down 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Gilead Sciences will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.77 per share. This is an increase from Gilead Sciences’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.70%. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is currently 68.44%.

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.