Gilead Sciences Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:GILD)

by · The Markets Daily

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD – Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 165,669 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 1,115% compared to the typical volume of 13,634 call options.

Gilead Sciences Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of GILD stock traded down $2.81 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $120.40. The company had a trading volume of 6,679,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,884,916. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $88.57 and a 12 month high of $128.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $121.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $115.62. The company has a market cap 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 – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.31. Gilead Sciences had a return on equity of 51.86% and a net margin of 27.88%.The business had revenue of $7.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. Gilead Sciences’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Gilead Sciences has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.050-8.250 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeffrey Bluestone sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.08, for a total transaction of $625,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,115,713.60. This trade represents a 35.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.54, for a total value of $1,265,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 571,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $72,280,027.62. This trade represents a 1.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,757 shares of company stock worth $16,616,127. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 25.0% in the second quarter. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC now owns 50,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,544,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the period. One Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Gilead Sciences by 34.8% in the second quarter. One Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,163 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 2,364 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Gilead Sciences by 33.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,521,228 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $1,499,098,000 after purchasing an additional 3,394,330 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC grew its stake in Gilead Sciences by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 430,424 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $48,229,000 after buying an additional 30,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplify Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Gilead Sciences by 148.6% in the 2nd quarter. Simplify Asset Management Inc. now owns 52,890 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $5,864,000 after buying an additional 31,618 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GILD shares. BMO Capital Markets set a $135.00 target price on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Gilead Sciences from $110.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Daiwa Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on Gilead Sciences from $143.00 to $153.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.13.

Get Our Latest Analysis on GILD

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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