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After
Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD) spent the past
year locked in a four-star
ranking, enough top-performing CAPS members joined the
bullish crowd recently to upgrade it to
five
stars. A total of 1,753 members have given their opinion
on the biopharmaceutical company, with many offering analysis
and commentary explaining the recent optimism.
Shares of Gilead Sciences haven't joined the rally the way
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE),
Merck (NYSE: MRK), and
sanofi-aventis (NYSE: SNY) have since the
broader stock-market lows of March. But the company has
continued to perform well, so many CAPS members see a
good opportunity for gains. The company offers a healthy
and broad list of products, and sales of all of them grew in
the third quarter. One of its strong points is its
competitive position in HIV treatments, which investors
expect will
continue to be lucrativefor Gilead. Its single-pill HIV
treatment, Atripla, which is a combination of drugs from
Gilead and
Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), brought a
42% increase in third-quarter sales. And while demand is
increasing for swine flu vaccines from companies like
Novartis (NYSE: NVS), Gilead is raking in
Tamiflu royalties from its license with
Roche , similar to increased demand for rival
drug Relenza from
GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK).
Gilead's quarterly results beat expectations, and the
company raised its guidance for full-year revenue while
lowering its forecast for research and development costs. And
after success with its other
cocktail HIV drugs, investors see that its four-in-one
pill, which is in development, could have a big impact in
coming years.
Do you think Gilead Sciences deserves its improved status?
Add your thoughts in the comments box below, or head over to
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This article was originally published as
A Big Upgrade for Gilead Scienceson
Fool.com
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