Health and Healthcare
Will Increased Competition Hurt Gilead's Outlook?
Published:
Last Updated:
The company gave guidance for the 2015 full year. Net product sales are expected to be in the range of $26 billion to $27 billion and gross margin is expected to be 87% to 90%. There are consensus estimates for the 2015 full year of $9.79 in EPS and $28.65 billion in revenue.
The board of directors announced that it had authorized a dividend program where the company intends to pay quarterly dividends of $0.43 per share beginning in the second quarter of 2015. Dividend payments are subject to quarterly declarations by the board of directors.
A share repurchase program of $15 billion in common stock was also approved by Gilead’s board. This new program adds to the currently authorized three-year $5.0 billion repurchase program from May 2014, of which $3 billion remained at the end of December.
ALSO READ: Portfolio Managers Love These 5 Biotech Stocks
For 2014, antiviral product sales were $22.8 billion compared to $9.3 billion in 2013. The increase in the quarter and full year was primarily driven by sales of Sovaldi. Sovaldi had sales of $1.73 billion globally for the fourth quarter and Harvoni had global sales of $2.11 billion.
Gilead had $11.7 billion of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, compared to $2.6 billion as of the end of December 2013. During 2014, Gilead generated $12.8 billion in operating cash flow and utilized $5.3 billion to repurchase shares.
John Martin PhD., chairman and CEO of Gilead, said:
The past year was marked by the launch of our first oncology product, second HCV medication, regulatory filings for the next generation HIV medicine, E/C/F/TAF, and a doubling of product revenues relative to 2013. We are entering 2015 with financial strength, a portfolio of 19 marketed products that are addressing significant unmet medical needs and a pipeline for which we expect a number of milestones and data readouts during the coming year.
In mid-to-late January, a few analysts weighed in on Gilead:
- Needham had a Buy rating with a price target of $120.
- Nomura reiterated a Buy rating with a price target of $146.
- Maxim Group had a Buy rating with a price target of $127.
ALSO READ: Short Sellers Starting to Gang Up on Biotech
Shares of Gilead closed Tuesday up 1% at $107.15. In after-hours trading, after the earnings report was released, shares were down 3.5% at $103.35. The stock has a consensus analyst price target of $122.58 and a 52-week trading range of $63.50 to $116.83.
Is Your Money Earning the Best Possible Rate? (Sponsor)
Let’s face it: If your money is just sitting in a checking account, you’re losing value every single day. With most checking accounts offering little to no interest, the cash you worked so hard to save is gradually being eroded by inflation.
However, by moving that money into a high-yield savings account, you can put your cash to work, growing steadily with little to no effort on your part. In just a few clicks, you can set up a high-yield savings account and start earning interest immediately.
There are plenty of reputable banks and online platforms that offer competitive rates, and many of them come with zero fees and no minimum balance requirements. Click here to see if you’re earning the best possible rate on your money!
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
