Gilead has a “best-in-class, unparalleled HIV business,” Truist said.
Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) witnessed a slew of price target hikes on Friday after the company raised its annual product sales and earnings outlook on strong HIV product sales.
Truist upgraded Gilead to ‘Buy’ from ‘Hold’ with a price target of $127, up from $108. The analyst said that it is “highly encouraged” by the leading indicators of demand for Yeztugo, Gilead’s twice-yearly HIV prevention injection approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June.
Truist noted that Gilead’s cell therapy segment continues to face challenges, but the firm thinks this will be “invigorated” with Anito-cel, currently being studied in the treatment of multiple myeloma. Gilead has a “best-in-class, unparalleled HIV business,” the analyst added.
On Thursday, the drugmaker increased its full-year product sales guidance to $28.3 billion to $28.7 billion, compared to its previous guidance of $28.2 billion to $28.6 billion. The company now sees adjusted earnings per share of $7.95 to $8.25 for the year, up from its previous estimate of $7.7 to $8.10.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around GILD jumped from ‘bearish’ to ‘bullish’ over the past 24 hours, while message volume rose from ‘low’ to ‘high’ levels.
Several more analysts shared new price targets on Gilead on Friday:
- UBS raised its price target on Gilead to $112 from $108 while keeping a ‘Neutral’ rating on the shares.
- Morgan Stanley analyst Terence Flynn raised the firm’s price target on Gilead to $143 from $135 and kept an ‘Overweight’ rating on the shares.
- BMO Capital raised the firm’s price target on Gilead to $130 from $120 and kept an ‘Outperform’ rating on the shares.
- Oppenheimer analyst Matthew Biegler raised the firm’s price target on Gilead to $128 from $125 and kept an ‘Outperform’ rating on the shares.
For the second quarter, Gilead reported total revenue of $7.1 billion, marking an increase of 2% year-on-year, and beating an analyst estimate of $6.96 billion, according to Fiscal AI. The company pegged the revenue growth to higher HIV product sales, offset by lower sales of its liver disease portfolio and cell therapy products.
HIV product sales increased 7% to $5.1 billion, primarily driven by increased demand and a higher average realized price. Sales rose for both the company’s Biktarvy and Descovy HIV drugs, which grew by 9% and 35%, respectively.
Adjusted and diluted earnings came in at $2.01 in the second quarter, beating an analyst estimate of $1.96.
GILD stock is up by 30% this year and by about 59% over the past 12 months.
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