Have A Little Faith in Gilead (GILD), Says Maxim Group

Maxim Group maintained a Buy rating on Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) with a price target of $127. Earlier Gilead stock declined after Express Scripts (NASDAQ: ESRX) said they will only cover AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) HCV therapy, Viekira Pak. Reports say AbbVie is offering some level of discounting to Express Scripps, which is priced below Harvoni. In the view of analyst Jason Kolbert, investors should "have a little faith in Gilead."

"The key for Gilead will be understanding how the steady state dynamics of both Sovaldi and Harvoni (short duration, interferon- and ribavirin-free), which offer real value to patients and payers, "plays out." Understanding how this dynamic will impact global HCV patients and payers will be critical to modeling Gilead's future revenues. What is the right price for HCV therapy in 2015, in 2016, and beyond? This will clearly take time for the company, prescribing physicians, and all constituencies (payers) to understand," said Kolbert.

"Gilead is a master marketing company and Harvoni is the best HCV therapy in the marketplace in a Single Tablet Regimen (STR). Let's not under-estimate patient compliance and ease of use. We expect price and share competition, which is factored into our model. Ask yourself, as a patient which therapy would you choose? Remember too that shorter regimens could put Harvoni at a lower total cost point vs. Viekira Pak," added the analyst.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Gilead Sciences click here. For more ratings news on Gilead Sciences click here.

Shares of Gilead Sciences closed at $108.45 yesterday.

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