Gilead Sciences will announce second quarter results on Thursday. It would have to go a ways to top its Q1 earnings, which reversed from a $1.32 loss the same quarter a year earlier to a $1.81 EPS gain. That's ostensibly a 237% rise.
On Monday, the maker of treatments for heart disease, HIV and Covid-19 among others got an upgrade for its IBD SmartSelect Composite Rating from 92 to a near-best 96.
Gilead In Top 4% Of All Stocks
The upgraded score means the company is now outperforming 96% of all stocks in terms of the most important fundamental and technical stock-picking criteria. History shows the top market performers tend to have a 95 or higher score as they launch their major climbs.
Looking For Winning Stocks? How To Invest In Both Bull And Bear Markets
Foster City, Calif.-based Gilead Sciences is currently forming a consolidation, with a 119.96 buy point. See if the stock can break out in volume at least 40% above average. But note that it's a later-stage base, and those can succeed but involve more risk.
Among its other ratings, Gilead's Accumulation/Distribution Rating of B shows moderate buying by institutional investors over the last 13 weeks. In addition to its excellent Composite Rating, Gilead has a best-possible A SMR Rating (sales + profit margins + return on equity).
One weak spot is the company's 75 EPS Rating, which tracks quarterly and annual earnings-per-share growth. Look for that to improve to 80 or better to show it's in the top 20% of all stocks.
Wall Street Sets A Low Earnings Bar
Although Gilead reported terrific earnings last quarter, its revenue was flat with the prior year's quarter at $6.67 billion. The company says on its website it will hold a conference call with analysts after the market closes Thursday to discuss Q2 results.
Wall Street projects flat year-over-year sales again, at $6.98 billion, and a 2% dip in EPS as the company faces a difficult comp vs. a 50% surge in EPS in Q2 a year ago.
Gilead Sciences earns a lofty No. 7 rank among its peers in the 692-stock Medical-Biomed/Biotech industry group. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, Incyte and Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals are among the top five highly-rated stocks in the group.
The medical/biotech group itself ranks a strong No. 20 on IBD's list of 197 industry groups.
This article was created automatically with Stats Perform's Wordsmith software using data and article templates supplied by Investor's Business Daily. An IBD journalist may have edited the article.
Please follow James DeTar on Twitter @JimDeTar
