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

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 16,649 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 112% compared to the average daily volume of 7,845 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on GILD shares. HSBC upgraded Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $133.00 to $155.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences from $166.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their target price on shares of Gilead Sciences from $161.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut shares of Gilead Sciences from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $146.00 to $127.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Twenty-five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $158.04.

Gilead Sciences Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ GILD traded up $1.39 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $134.45. 1,345,426 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,156,516. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -50.41 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.27, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $129.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.34. Gilead Sciences has a 12 month low of $108.46 and a 12 month high of $157.29.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The biopharmaceutical company reported ($6.75) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($7.25) by $0.50. The company had revenue of $7.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.40 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%.Gilead Sciences’s quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.01 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Gilead Sciences will post -0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Gilead Sciences Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Gilead Sciences’s dividend payout ratio is currently -122.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew D. Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.27, for a total transaction of $396,810.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,907,973.57. This represents a 1.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel Patrick O’day sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.31, for a total value of $1,954,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 592,133 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,160,851.23. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 82,000 shares of company stock valued at $10,641,790 in the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Gilead Sciences in the 2nd quarter worth about $15,393,785,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Gilead Sciences during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,617,152,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the second quarter worth approximately $918,387,000. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences in the fourth quarter worth approximately $517,808,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Gilead Sciences during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $398,905,000. 83.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Gilead Sciences

Gilead Sciences, Inc, founded in 1987 and headquartered in Foster City, California, is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of medicines in areas of high unmet medical need. The company initially built its reputation in antiviral therapies and has since expanded into oncology, cell therapy and inflammatory diseases. Gilead operates a global research and commercial organization, conducting clinical development and selling medicines in markets around the world.

Gilead’s product portfolio is anchored by antiviral therapies for HIV and viral hepatitis.