Gilead Sciences Shares Trade Higher After Bullish Analyst Upgrades Stock

Shares of Gilead Sciences, Inc. GILD are trading higher into Friday’s trading session after Bank of America Securities upgraded the stock, highlighting an underappreciated growth potential in its core HIV business and emerging hematology/oncology franchises.

Here’s what investors need to know.

The GILD Analyst: Geoff Meacham upgraded Gilead Sciences to a Buy rating from a Neutral rating, and raised the price target to $95 from $88.

The GILD Takeaways: The company is showing signs of a brighter future, with accelerating growth that is currently flying under the radar for many investors, Meacham said in a Friday note to investors. At the heart of underappreciation is the company's core HIV business, which has consistently displayed strong performance and seems poised for further expansion.

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A closer look shows some encouraging signs, the analyst noted. Gilead Sciences' HIV franchise is expected to see growth in the low to mid-single digits in the near future, and it is a significant turnaround from the slump it experienced during the height of the pandemic. Additionally, the “next-generation” asset, Lenacapavir, shows considerable promise in adding to Gilead Sciences' growth trajectory.

Diversifying its strengths, the analyst said Gilead Sciences' ventures into the hematology and oncology sectors are also showing potential. Despite inherent uncertainties associated with the domains, drugs like Trodelvy and Kite have been posting remarkable growth rates.

Bank of America said its upward revision in Gilead Sciences' price target can be attributed to projected revenue spikes from its star performers, Biktarvy and Kite.

GILD Price Action: Shares of Gilead Sciences are trading 2.95% higher to $76.12 on Friday at publication, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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