Gilead Sciences (GILD +0.39%) is a top healthcare company that generates the bulk of its revenue from medicine that treats HIV. And it has an exciting new treatment in lenacapavir that, if it obtains regulatory approval, could be a game changer for HIV patients -- and lead to significant growth for Gilead.
Between the stability the business offers investors, its solid dividend, and attractive growth prospects, it's little wonder why the stock has been doing so well this year, rising more than 20% thus far. But with the shares now trading around their 52-week high, is Gilead still a good buy?
News on lenacapavir could send the stock higher
Lenacapavir is an HIV treatment that would require patients to receive an injection just twice a year. It's a significant change from the daily pills many HIV patients are accustomed to taking today. While an injectable treatment may be less desirable than oral medication, it could be a highly coveted option because of how infrequently patients would need to have it administered.
At its peak, lenacapavir could generate more than $4 billion in revenue. That would easily make it one of the company's top-selling medicines. Last year, only Biktarvy, another HIV treatment (a daily pill), generated more than that with its sales topping $8.6 billion. The Food and Drug Administration received Gilead's New Drug Application for lenacapavir earlier this year and has set a PDUFA date of Dec. 27, meaning that a decision on the treatment should be coming soon.
Positive news on that front could easily send shares of Gilead to new highs because it would unlock a huge growth opportunity for the business. And the company has already been reporting some strong results lately.
Recent results were better than they looked
In its third-quarter earnings report (for the period ended Sept. 30), Gilead's revenue looked underwhelming at just over $7 billion and down 5% year over year. But when excluding its COVID-19 treatment, Veklury, sales were up 11%. And there were multiple areas of its business that showed impressive growth.
NASDAQ: GILD
Key Data Points
Cancer treatment Trodelvy, which is still in its early growth stages, generated revenue of $180 million during the quarter, which was a 78% increase from the prior-year period. Gilead's revenue from cell therapy products rose by 79% to $398 million and sales from its hepatitis C medicine jumped by 22% to $524 million. Even its core HIV business brought in $4.5 billion in sales, which rose 7% year over year.
Gilead's business has been doing incredibly well lately, and although costs were up last quarter -- mainly due to in-process related research and development expenses (a nonrecurring expense stemming from a recent acquisition) -- the company's operating margin was an impressive 40% of revenue.
Investors also get a solid dividend
Gilead is also a good dividend stock. It yields 3.3%, which is close to double the S&P 500 average of 1.7%.
The company has been increasing its payouts over the years, with the current $0.73 quarterly dividend payment being 40% higher than the $0.52 that Gilead was paying five years earlier. And with Gilead's free cash flow totaling $9 billion over the trailing 12 months, it's in a strong position to continue raising its payouts, which have cost the company $3.7 billion during the same stretch. Gilead's dividend doesn't look to be in any danger and it's a payout that investors could rely on for the foreseeable future.
Gilead is still a great buy today
At 34 times earnings, shares of Gilead look expensive (the healthcare sector's average multiple is 23)but that is also high due to the company's recent earnings report in which acquired research and development costs dragged down its profits. Based on analyst expectations, Gilead is trading at a multiple of 13 times its future profits, and that's lower than the industry average of 17.
Although Gilead's value has been rising, this is still an investment that provides lots of value for investors and can be a great stock to own in 2023. Between its dividend, the growth the business has been achieving, and the potential that lenacapavir offers, the stock could generate strong profits and dividend income for your portfolio for many years to come.
