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

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 16,499 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 107% compared to the typical volume of 7,952 put options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Gilead Sciences from $165.00 to $188.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $184.00 price objective on shares of Gilead Sciences in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised Gilead Sciences from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 19th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Gilead Sciences from $168.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Gilead Sciences from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $169.74.

Gilead Sciences Trading Down 0.8%

GILD traded down $1.28 on Tuesday, hitting $169.05. The company had a trading volume of 1,750,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,802,594. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.03. Gilead Sciences has a 12-month low of $116.88 and a 12-month high of $175.65. The company has a market cap of $209.61 billion, a PE ratio of -53.50 and a beta of 0.31.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $2.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.36. The business had revenue of $8.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.81 billion. Gilead Sciences had a negative return on equity of 2.11% and a negative net margin of 10.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.47 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Gilead Sciences will post -1.03 EPS for the current year.

Gilead Sciences Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 15th. Gilead Sciences’s payout ratio is presently -103.80%.

Key Stories Impacting Gilead Sciences

Here are the key news stories impacting Gilead Sciences this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to favor Gilead, with multiple firms raising price targets to between $175 and $200. Morgan Stanley upgraded or reiterated a Buy-equivalent view, while broader coverage remains predominantly bullish. Gilead Sciences Stock: Analyst Estimates & Ratings
• Positive Sentiment: Gilead will present data from more than 50 studies at HIV Glasgow 2026, including late-breaking clinical results, real-world evidence and updates on strategic collaborations. Positive results could reinforce confidence in the company’s leading HIV business and development pipeline. Gilead to Present Late-Breaking Clinical Data and Real-World Evidence at HIV Glasgow
• Positive Sentiment: BioNTech disclosed progress on a planned Phase 3 study of its pumitamig candidate combined with Gilead’s TROP2-directed cancer therapy Trodelvy in triple-negative breast cancer. The collaboration could support the long-term value of Gilead’s oncology pipeline, subject to regulatory approval. BioNTech Announces Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Corporate Update
• Neutral Sentiment: Gilead recently reported quarterly earnings above analyst expectations, with revenue also exceeding forecasts and increasing year over year. However, the company’s revenue guidance improvement was accompanied by a weaker EPS outlook, creating a mixed near-term earnings signal. Gilead Sciences Q3 2026 Earnings Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Daniel O’Day sold a combined 30,881 shares in two recent transactions worth about $5.3 million. Both sales were conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, reducing the signal’s significance, but the transactions may still weigh modestly on investor sentiment. Gilead Sciences Stock: Insider Daniel Patrick O’Day Sells Shares

Insider Activity at Gilead Sciences

In other Gilead Sciences news, CFO Andrew Dickinson sold 3,000 shares of Gilead Sciences stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.22, for a total value of $468,660.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 161,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,166,417.12. The trade was a 1.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Daniel O’Day sold 15,881 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.25, for a total transaction of $2,783,145.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 566,683 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,311,195.75. The trade was a 2.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 126,881 shares of company stock valued at $19,252,455 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gilead Sciences

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Plancorp LLC boosted its position in shares of Gilead Sciences by 14.1% in the third quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 7,473 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,114,000 after acquiring an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. May Hill Capital LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 15.8% in the third quarter. May Hill Capital LLC now owns 2,968 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $442,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Gilead Sciences by 1.1% in the third quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 62,752 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $9,353,000 after purchasing an additional 665 shares during the period. Providence First Trust Co increased its position in Gilead Sciences by 22.9% during the third quarter. Providence First Trust Co now owns 4,641 shares of the biopharmaceutical company’s stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Gilead Sciences during the third quarter worth approximately $229,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.67% of the company’s stock.

Gilead Sciences Company Profile

Gilead Sciences, Inc is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops and commercializes medicines for serious and life-threatening diseases. The company is best known for its HIV treatments, including Biktarvy, Descovy, Genvoya and Truvada, as well as therapies for chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Its portfolio also includes Veklury (remdesivir), an antiviral treatment for COVID-19.

Gilead has expanded into oncology and cell therapy through products such as Trodelvy and the CAR T-cell therapies Yescarta and Tecartus, which are developed and marketed through its Kite subsidiary.