Gilead Sciences (GILD) 'Crushed' the Quarter, Piper Jaffray Says; Remains Top Large-Cap Biotech Pick
Piper Jaffray analyst Joshua Schimmer reiterated an Overweight rating and lifted his price target on Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) to $120.00 (from $116.00) after the company "crushed" the quarter and raised its outlook.
Schimmer commented, "GILD hosted the 1Q earnings call after the close. In what could have been a difficult quarter due to increased competition in HCV space and FX headwinds, GILD wound up beating consensus revenue ($7.59B vs. consensus $6.89B) and EPS ($2.94 vs. consensus $2.32) handily and raised 2015 revenue guidance. The company now expects full year net sales to be $28-29B from previously provided $26-27B. We updated our estimates to reflect the new guidance and as such our new PT increases from $116 to $120 (disc rate and terminal multiple unchanged). GILD remains one of our top large cap biotech picks."
The firm lifted FY 2015 EPS from $9.38 to $10.37 and FY 2016 EPS from $9.59 to $10.30.
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Shares of Gilead Sciences closed at $100.51 yesterday.