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Gilead Sciences (GILD) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

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Gilead Sciences (GILD - Free Report) closed at $78.08 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.74% move from the prior day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.84%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.03%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 2.51%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the HIV and hepatitis C drugmaker had gained 4.69% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's gain of 4.71% and outpaced the S&P 500's gain of 3.73% in that time.

GILD will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be July 30, 2020. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.57, down 13.74% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $5.36 billion, down 5.8% from the prior-year quarter.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $6.73 per share and revenue of $23.04 billion. These totals would mark changes of +1.51% and +2.63%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for GILD. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 5.08% higher. GILD is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, GILD currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 11.52. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 25.83, which means GILD is trading at a discount to the group.

Also, we should mention that GILD has a PEG ratio of 3.33. 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 1.74 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 97, putting it in the top 39% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.

To follow GILD in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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