Based on the aggregated intelligence of 165,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, biotech giant Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Gilead's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Gilead facts

Headquarters (Founded)

Foster City, Calif. (1987)

Market Cap

$27.8 billion

Industry

Biotechnology

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$7.85 billion

Management

CEO Dr. John Martin (since 1996)

CFO Robin Washington (since 2008)

Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)

52.1%

Cash/Debt

$2 billion / $1.7 billion

Competitors

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE)

Merck (NYSE: MRK)

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ)

Sources: Capital IQ (a division of Standard & Poor's) and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 97% of the 2,052 members who have rated Gilead believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include dba3 and G311.

Less than two months ago, dba3 noted that Gilead's $35 price level "provides an excellent opportunity to get a great company for a low price." Our CAPS member continues: "Add to that a 2010 cash flow of 3 bil, a strong pipeline of new drugs, and a stock repurchase plan initiated in Jan. Sooner or later the market will appreciate this company."

Gilead's dominant position in the HIV/AIDS drug market and enviable cash flow generation continue to fuel the stock's five-star CAPS status. Driven largely by its blockbuster Atripla, an all-in-one combo of Truvada and Bristol-Myers Squibb's (NYSE: BMY) Sustiva, Gilead has managed to post whopping cash king margins of 40% over the past few years. While slower-than-expected sales have weighed heavily on Gilead's shares in 2010, the stock's current PEG ratio of 0.7 -- substantially lower than big pharma foes Pfizer (4.25), Merck (1.9), and Johnson & Johnson (1.9) -- is just too paltry for several Fools to ignore.

CAPS member g311 explains:

The only potential problem is Gilead's dependence on its currently high-selling HIV drugs. But all indications point to the company having another 2-3 years to develop its "next big thing" before that dependence becomes a problem. With such a great free cash flow and developmental track record, I'm not worried about Gilead failing to come up with new and useful drugs. Plus, such an enviable cash position means Gilead can probably snap up any start-ups that threaten its core market (and maybe then avoid having to develop the "next big thing" itself).

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