5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Gilead Sciences

Market-beating returns could be written in these five stars.

By Brian D. Pacampara

updated 4:10 a.m. ET Nov. 9, 2009

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 140,000-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

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Headquarters (Founded)	Foster City, Calif. (1987)
Market Cap	$41.6 billion
Industry	Biotechnology
Trailing-12-Month Revenue	$6.4 billion
Management	Dr. John Martin (since 1996) COO Dr. John Milligan (since 2007)
Return on Capital (Average, Past 3 Years)	30.6%
Cash / Debt	$3.3 billion / $1.3 billion
Competitors	GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) Abbott Labs (NYSE: ABT)
CAPS Members Bullish on GILD Also Bullish on	Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) General Electric (NYSE: GE)
CAPS Members Bearish on GILD Also Bearish on	Citigroup (NYSE: C) Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN)

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

On CAPS, 97.1% of the 1,752 members who have rated Gilead believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These bulls include mitleg and BGview.

Late last month, mitleg highlighted Gilead as a flu-fueled stock just waiting for liftoff:

This stock has languished while other sectors have driven the market. It is relatively inexpensive at the moment. Low peg, favorable pe, strong growth, low debt, and strong free cash flow. Given the connection to Tamiflu, I think as swine flu continues to terrorize here in the midwest and elsewhere, it could have a real strong quarter or two.

In an earlier pitch, BGview explains why Gilead should keep its lead in HIV:

As long as [Gilead's] Atripla continues to be the lead choice of a single dose / single pill HIV treatment, it will gain market share as doctors put patients on this drug. Recent study showing that the company's anti-HIV drugs can be used in Africa without constant lab test monitoring of patients should boost significantly its opportunities in developing markets. Negatives can be competitors coming up with their own one pill / once-per-day HIV drugs or alternative therapies appearing.

What do you think about Gilead, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. The CAPS community is waiting to hear your opinions. CAPS is 100% free, so get started!