In the latest market close, Gilead Sciences (GILD) reached $115.99, with a +1.47% movement compared to the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.76%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 1.48%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 2.64%.

The HIV and hepatitis C drugmaker's shares have seen an increase of 17.6% over the last month, surpassing the Medical sector's gain of 1.11% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.26%.

The upcoming earnings release of Gilead Sciences will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.73, reflecting a 231.06% increase from the same quarter last year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $6.78 billion, indicating a 1.36% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $7.85 per share and a revenue of $28.53 billion, representing changes of +69.91% and -0.79%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Gilead Sciences. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 4.9% higher. Gilead Sciences is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

With respect to valuation, Gilead Sciences is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 14.56. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 21.87 for its industry.

One should further note that GILD currently holds a PEG ratio of 0.75. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. Medical - Biomedical and Genetics stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.49 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 70, putting it in the top 28% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.

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Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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