Gilead Sciences (GILD) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Gilead Sciences (GILD) closed at $65.28, marking a +0.28% move from the previous day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.53%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.19%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.14%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the HIV and hepatitis C drugmaker had gained 4.24% over the past month. This has outpaced the Medical sector's loss of 3.31% and the S&P 500's loss of 3.1% in that time.
Gilead Sciences will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.52, down 42.64% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $6.09 billion, down 17.93% from the prior-year quarter.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $6.62 per share and revenue of $25.27 billion. These totals would mark changes of -9.07% and -7.47%, respectively, from last year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Gilead Sciences. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.29% higher within the past month. Gilead Sciences is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Gilead Sciences is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 9.83. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 19.47.
It is also worth noting that GILD currently has a PEG ratio of 0.67. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. Medical - Biomedical and Genetics stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.43 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 71, putting it in the top 29% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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