Earnings from Fiserv and Gilead Sciences

After the closing bell yesterday, Fiserv ($FISV) reported second-quarter earnings of $1.13 per share which was five cents more than expectations. For the same quarter one year ago, the company earned $1.00 per share.

I really like this stock. Fiserv also reiterated its full-year forecast of $4.42 to $4.54 per share. The stock is up about $1 today and is close to the all-time high price reached earlier this month.

I was nervous about Gilead Sciences ($GILD) because it had a very bad earnings report last time. This time around, wasn’t so bad. Gilead netted $1.00 per share which was one penny better than expectations.

Sales of Atripla, which combines Gilead’s Truvada with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co’s Sustiva into a single pill, rose 15 percent to $822 million, topping analysts’ forecasts of between $810 million and $812 million.

Sales of Truvada rose 11 percent to $711.3 million, also exceeding Wall Street estimates of about $708 million.

First-quarter sales of the two drugs had missed analysts’ estimates as they were hit by temporary cutbacks in state-funded AIDS drug assistance programs in Florida and Texas.

Gilead is expected to unveil key data on its Quad HIV pill later this quarter and said it plans to file its application seeking U.S. approval in the first quarter of 2012.

Quad, which will combine four medicines, is considered to be Gilead’s most important future growth driver by many analysts.

The company said it is also planning to seek U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to amend the Truvada label to include data from recent studies showing the drug can help prevent new HIV infections.

Posted by on July 27th, 2011 at 8:47 am


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