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Better Buy: Netflix vs. Gilead Sciences

By Max Macaluso and Mark Reeth – Mar 18, 2014 at 4:00PM

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We've collected the most popular companies amongst Fool.com readers and put them head-to-head in a good old-fashioned challenge we're calling The Motley Fool Better-Buy Tournament.

In today's ­first round matchup of The Motley Fool Better-Buy Tournament, Netflix squares off against Gilead Sciences in a battle to determine which stock is the better buy now. The 64-company tournament pits two Motley Fool analysts against each other as they make the case for their stocks, with the winner determined by you, the readers.

Motley Fool Consumer Goods Editor Mark Reeth thinks Netflix (NFLX 2.50%) is poised for greater growth than ever before. The past year was a good one for the video streamer and DVD deliverer, with total subscriber count increasing by 4 million and its contribution margin improving by about 400 basis points; all of this helped the company become the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 best performing stock of 2013. As if that wasn't enough, Netflix has a strong pipeline of original content that will draw additional viewers, which will in turn continue to improve the company's top line. 

Motley Fool analyst Max Macaluso makes the case for Gilead Sciences (GILD 1.57%) to move on to the next round. Gilead is one of today's biggest biotech companies, with a number of blockbuster drugs already on the market. It also recently launched a potential blockbuster hepatitis C treatment, Sovaldi, and its impressive pipeline also bodes well for the company's future.

Watch these analysts square off in the video below and then vote for a winner. Then check out the other companies in the Motley Fool Better-Buy Bracket

This year's winning stock?
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Cast your vote in the poll below the video!

Mark Reeth has no position in any stocks mentioned. Max Macaluso, Ph.D. owns shares of Gilead Sciences. The Motley Fool recommends Gilead Sciences and Netflix. The Motley Fool owns shares of Netflix. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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