UPDATE: Stifel Starts Gilead Sciences (GILD) at Buy

Stifel initiated coverage on Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) with a Buy rating and a price target of $100.

Analyst Katherine Breedis said, "GILD is the market leader in therapeutics to treat Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) and HIV, with the potential to become a leader in Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), a disease area of high unmet medical need affecting an estimated 15 million in the U.S (per Nature Biotechnology) and representing what we believe could be a $15 billion-plus market by 2025. GILD has become a “value story” and currently trades at 7.0x 2017 consensus Non-GAAP EPS (3.2x cash/share) after recently trading at an all-time low P/E of 6.5x, owing to the declining growth profile and limited visibility of patient volumes of its HCV franchise, which accounts for nearly 50% of GILD’s revenue base and recent pipeline attrition. That said, we believe this “value story” is beginning to turn, based on our outlook for improving HCV stability and GILD's pipeline profile over the next 12 months, particularly in NASH."

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 $76.42 yesterday.

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