Barclays on U.S. Pharma: A New Era for Hep C Therapy - Starts Coverage on GILD & IDIX

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GILD Hot Sheet

Rating Summary:
12 Buy, 7 Hold, 0 Sell

Rating Trend: = Flat

Today's Overall Ratings:
Up: 16 | Down: 7 | New: 23

This morning, Barclays initiated coverage on Gilead (Nasdaq: GILD) with an Overweight rating and $67 price target. The firm also started coverage on Idenix (Nasdaq: IDIX) with an Equalweight rating and $10 price target.

Analyst, C. Anthony Butler, said, "The race towards developing the second-generation of direct antivirals (DAAs) may be a dead-heat. By the end of this decade, we believe two dominant therapy types will emerge for hepatitis C (HCV) patients: 1) a combination of a nucleotide polymerase inhibitor (Nuc) and ribavirin; and 2) a cocktail of a nucleotide polymerase inhibitor and one or two DAAs of other mechanisms."

"GILD has leapfrogged competitors through the bold acquisition of Pharmasset, and its stock move (+32.7% YTD vs NASDAQ +11.8%) reflects the market sentiment that GILD is leading the HCV race. We estimate that GILD could capture ~40% of the US HCV market by 2020 and US sales would peak at $2.8B in 2017."

"IDIX needs to find a home for its Nuc IDX184 in order to remain a contender."

Currently, shares of IDIX are trading down 1.25% and shares of GILD are flat on the session.

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