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Will Strong Veklury and HIV Sales Aid Gilead's (GILD) Q1 Earnings?
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Biotech major Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD - Free Report) is slated to report first-quarter 2021 results on Apr 29, after market close.
The company has a mixed track record, with earnings missing estimates in one of the last four quarters and beating in the remaining three, the average negative surprise being 0.12%. In the last reported quarter, the company beat expectations by 1.86%.
Let’s see how things have shaped up for this announcement.
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Gilead this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Earnings ESP: Earnings ESP for Gilead is +6.00% as the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $2.02, while the Most Accurate Estimate is pegged at $214.
Zacks Rank: It currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.
Factors at Play
Gilead did not provide any guidance for the first quarter. The company reported better-than-expected results in the fourth quarter of 2020 on increased demand for Veklury (remdesivir) for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Similar to the past quarters, the HIV franchise, driven by the strong Biktarvy uptake and growth in Descovy sales, is likely to have maintained momentum in the first quarter. However, the loss of exclusivity of Truvada and Atripla in the United States and the impact of COVID-19 primarily on Gilead’s pre-exposure prophylaxis (“PrEP”) franchise might have adversely impacted sales. HIV product sales decreased 7% to $4.3 billion in the previous quarter and similar levels are expected for the quarter under review. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales of Biktarvy and Descovy is projected at $2.1 billion and $484 million, respectively.
HCV sales are likely to have declined in the first quarter, a trend continuing for many quarters due to lower sales volume stemming from lower patient starts in the United States and Europe. Sales in the previous quarter were down 33% to $423 million.
Veklury sales contributed $1.9 billion to the top line in the previous quarter, driven by higher hospitalization and treatment rates due to the COVID-19 surge. Similar contributions are expected in the quarter under review as the pandemic continues to create havoc.
Cell Therapy product sales, which include Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) and Tecartus (brexucabtagene autoleucel), came in at $163 million in the previous quarter. Sales might have experienced a sequential increase, driven by a higher number of therapies provided to patients and its continued expansion in Europe. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Yescarta sales is projected at $144 million.
Trodelvy (for breast cancer) sales came in $49 million following the acquisition of Immunomedics by Gilead on Oct 23, 2020. Since this is the first full quarter following the acquisition, sales might have got a boost from incremental contributions.
Operating expenses have also most likely increased due to higher investments in the oncology program.
Other Pipeline & Regulatory Updates
Apart from the regular top and bottom-line numbers, we expect investors to focus on the company’s pipeline updates.
The FDA recently granted accelerated approval to Trodelvy for use in adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer (UC) who have previously received platinum-containing chemotherapy and either a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) or a programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor.
Gilead announced a collaboration agreement with pharma giant Merck (MRK - Free Report) to co-develop and co-commercialize long-acting treatments in HIV. The companies have collaborated to evaluate Gilead’s investigational capsid inhibitor, lenacapavir, with Merck’s investigational nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor, islatravir, to form a two-drug regimen for HIV patients. Further updates on the same are expected on the call.
The FDA has granted accelerated approval to its chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel), for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy.
Share Price Performance
Gilead’s stock has gained 12.7% in the year so far against the industry's decline of 2%.
Other Stocks to Consider
Here are some other drug/biotech stocks you may want to consider, as our model shows that these too have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this season.
AstraZeneca (AZN - Free Report) with an Earnings ESP of +5.26% and a Zacks Rank #3.
Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2021
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 best buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2021?
Last year's 2020 Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolio returned gains as high as +386.8%. Now a brand-new portfolio has been handpicked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these long-term buys.
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Will Strong Veklury and HIV Sales Aid Gilead's (GILD) Q1 Earnings?
Biotech major Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD - Free Report) is slated to report first-quarter 2021 results on Apr 29, after market close.
The company has a mixed track record, with earnings missing estimates in one of the last four quarters and beating in the remaining three, the average negative surprise being 0.12%. In the last reported quarter, the company beat expectations by 1.86%.
Let’s see how things have shaped up for this announcement.
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Gilead Sciences, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Gilead Sciences, Inc. Quote
Why a Likely Positive Surprise
Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Gilead this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Earnings ESP: Earnings ESP for Gilead is +6.00% as the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at $2.02, while the Most Accurate Estimate is pegged at $214.
Zacks Rank: It currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.
Factors at Play
Gilead did not provide any guidance for the first quarter. The company reported better-than-expected results in the fourth quarter of 2020 on increased demand for Veklury (remdesivir) for the treatment of COVID-19 patients.
Similar to the past quarters, the HIV franchise, driven by the strong Biktarvy uptake and growth in Descovy sales, is likely to have maintained momentum in the first quarter. However, the loss of exclusivity of Truvada and Atripla in the United States and the impact of COVID-19 primarily on Gilead’s pre-exposure prophylaxis (“PrEP”) franchise might have adversely impacted sales. HIV product sales decreased 7% to $4.3 billion in the previous quarter and similar levels are expected for the quarter under review. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for sales of Biktarvy and Descovy is projected at $2.1 billion and $484 million, respectively.
HCV sales are likely to have declined in the first quarter, a trend continuing for many quarters due to lower sales volume stemming from lower patient starts in the United States and Europe. Sales in the previous quarter were down 33% to $423 million.
Veklury sales contributed $1.9 billion to the top line in the previous quarter, driven by higher hospitalization and treatment rates due to the COVID-19 surge. Similar contributions are expected in the quarter under review as the pandemic continues to create havoc.
Cell Therapy product sales, which include Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel) and Tecartus (brexucabtagene autoleucel), came in at $163 million in the previous quarter. Sales might have experienced a sequential increase, driven by a higher number of therapies provided to patients and its continued expansion in Europe. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Yescarta sales is projected at $144 million.
Trodelvy (for breast cancer) sales came in $49 million following the acquisition of Immunomedics by Gilead on Oct 23, 2020. Since this is the first full quarter following the acquisition, sales might have got a boost from incremental contributions.
Operating expenses have also most likely increased due to higher investments in the oncology program.
Other Pipeline & Regulatory Updates
Apart from the regular top and bottom-line numbers, we expect investors to focus on the company’s pipeline updates.
The FDA recently granted accelerated approval to Trodelvy for use in adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer (UC) who have previously received platinum-containing chemotherapy and either a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) or a programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor.
Gilead announced a collaboration agreement with pharma giant Merck (MRK - Free Report) to co-develop and co-commercialize long-acting treatments in HIV. The companies have collaborated to evaluate Gilead’s investigational capsid inhibitor, lenacapavir, with Merck’s investigational nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor, islatravir, to form a two-drug regimen for HIV patients. Further updates on the same are expected on the call.
The FDA has granted accelerated approval to its chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel), for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy.
Share Price Performance
Gilead’s stock has gained 12.7% in the year so far against the industry's decline of 2%.
Other Stocks to Consider
Here are some other drug/biotech stocks you may want to consider, as our model shows that these too have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this season.
Incyte (INCY - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +2.59% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
AstraZeneca (AZN - Free Report) with an Earnings ESP of +5.26% and a Zacks Rank #3.
Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2021
In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 best buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2021?
Last year's 2020 Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolio returned gains as high as +386.8%. Now a brand-new portfolio has been handpicked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Don’t miss your chance to get in on these long-term buys.
Access Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2021 today >>