GILD Stock Surging on Coronavirus Treatment Reports

A report was released that Gilead Sciences' COVID-19 treatment is working

Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) are surging, last seen up 10.6%, at $84.66, after an encouraging report suggested the biotech company's antiviral medication remdesivir may be effective at treating patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Conversely, there is some pessimism surrounding these findings, with Baird in particular saying that despite painting a pretty picture, the report lacks critical analysis.

On the charts, GILD is continuing to benefit from the long-term support of its rising, 40-day moving average. Today's rise fuels optimism surrounding the stock, as GILD boasts a 29% year-to-date gain.

Despite this, analysts are still split on the security. Of the 20 in coverage, sentiment is evenly divided. Half call it a "buy" or better, and the remaining sport a "hold" or worse. Meanwhile, the consensus 12-month price target of $75.32 is a 10% discount to current levels.

In the options pits, calls reign supreme. GILD sports a 50-day call/put volume ratio of 5.33 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio sits higher than 78% of all other readings from the past 12 months, suggesting that calls have been preferred over puts during the past 10 weeks.