Shares of Gilead Sciences are attracting the attention of Wall Street analysts. Piper Sandler and Truist upgraded the stock to overweight and buy ratings, respectively, after the company topped earnings expectations for the recent quarter and shared upbeat guidance. Both firms said they anticipate solid growth from Gilead’s oncology and HIV franchises going forward, saying now is the time to get in on the stock. “We believe GILD shares are undervalued, trading at a discount to peers, and a defensive healthcare name with improved fundamentals,” wrote Piper Sandler’s Do Kim in a note to clients Friday. Kim upped the firm’s price target on the stock to $96 from $79 a share, suggesting 37% upside from Thursday’s close. Truist’s Robyn Karnauskas highlighted the potential of Gilead’s cancer drugs and therapies in a note to clients, hiking the firm’s price target on the stock to $91 per share. That suggests shares can rally 30%. “Gilead is a large-cap biotech company that has a growing HIV base biz and growing oncology platform that we could start to see evolve,” she said. “While we believe the company has a base HIV business that should offer stable revenues for some time, we believe Biktarvy and Descovy remain key drivers of growth.” Gilead’s stock jumped nearly 5% in Friday’s premarket. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting
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