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Foster City, California-based Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) is a leading biopharmaceutical company. It discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines in the areas of unmet medical needs. With a market cap of $95.6 billion, Gilead’s operations span the U.S., Europe, and internationally.
The pharma giant has substantially underperformed the broader market over the past year. The GILD stock is up 1.4% over the past 52 weeks, while the S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied 18.5% over the same time frame. In 2024, Gilead stock dipped 5.2%, while the $SPX returned 12.1% on a YTD basis.
Zooming in further, GILD has also lagged behind the Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF’s (FTXH) 7.6% gains on a YTD basis and 8.7% returns over the past 52 weeks.
Gilead Sciences hit a rough patch at the start of 2024, facing a challenging landscape. On Jan. 22, the company stumbled as its stock plunged nearly 10%, following the failure of a key drug to prolong the lives of lung cancer patients. This setback rattled investors and put a damper on Gilead's ambitions in oncology. The turbulence continued on Apr. 25, with a 2.7% dip in shares after the company posted its Q1 earnings results, further testing market confidence.
However, Gilead has gained 17.5% over the past three months. Its stock rose a massive 8.5% on June 20, following the release of topline results from an interim analysis of its pivotal, Phase 3 PURPOSE 1 trial. These results indicated that the company’s twice-yearly injectable HIV-1 capsid inhibitor, lenacapavir, demonstrated 100% efficacy for the investigational use of HIV prevention in cisgender women.
For the current fiscal year, ending December, analysts expect Gilead to report an EPS decline of 44.5% to $3.73 on a diluted basis. The company’s earnings surprise history is mixed. It beat the consensus estimate in two of the past four quarters while missing the projections on two other occasions.
Among the 25 analysts covering the stock, the consensus estimate is a “Moderate Buy” overall. That’s based on 11 “Strong Buy” ratings, one “Moderate Buy,” and 13 “Holds.”
This configuration is slightly more bullish than two months before, with 10 analysts recommending a “Strong Buy.”
On July 22, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Olivia Brayer maintained a “Neutral” rating on Gilead Sciences stock and lowered the price target from $75 to $70.
The mean target price of $83.92 represents a premium of 9.3% to current price levels. The Street-high target of $119 indicates a potential upside of 55% from current price levels.
On the date of publication, Aditya Sarawgi did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
