In the latest close session, Gilead Sciences (GILD) was up +1.23% at $122.59. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 0.16%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.17%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.26%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the HIV and hepatitis C drugmaker had gained 0.58% lagged the Medical sector's gain of 2.84% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.89%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Gilead Sciences in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.87, reflecting a 1.58% decrease from the same quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $7.57 billion, indicating a 0.05% decline compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $8.14 per share and revenue of $29.06 billion, which would represent changes of +76.19% and 0%, respectively, from the prior year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Gilead Sciences. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 0.01% decrease. Gilead Sciences is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Digging into valuation, Gilead Sciences currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 14.19. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 21.5.
Also, we should mention that GILD has a PEG ratio of 0.64. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.56 at yesterday's closing price.
The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 91, this industry ranks in the top 38% of all industries, numbering over 250.
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.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
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Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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