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Gilead Sciences (GILD) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

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Gilead Sciences (GILD - Free Report) closed at $72.58 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.04% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.64%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.68%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.46%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the HIV and hepatitis C drugmaker had gained 4.38% over the past month. This has lagged the Medical sector's gain of 5.28% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.56% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Gilead Sciences as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.73, down 21% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $6.39 billion, down 13.89% from the year-ago period.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Gilead Sciences. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.06% higher within the past month. Gilead Sciences is holding a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy) right now.

Looking at its valuation, Gilead Sciences is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 8.99. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 23.07.

Investors should also note that GILD has a PEG ratio of 0.75 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Medical - Biomedical and Genetics stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.65 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 161, which puts it in the bottom 37% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. 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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