Leerink analyst Geoffrey Porges says Gilead's (GILD) Hepatitis C virus franchise is proving durable in the face of increased competition. In a research note titled "Another Pretender to HCV Throne Seems to Be Suffering the AbbVie Fate," Porges notes that seven weeks post the launch of Merck's (MRK) Zepatier, Gilead's Sovaldi and Harvoni "retain a relatively favorable position" in 65% of the top 20 largest commercial plans and 70% of the top 10 largest government plans relative to AbbVie's (ABBV) Viekira Pak and Zepatier. Script data and review of the largest payer plan formularies reveal that Gilead's HCV direct-acting antivirals are continuing to dominate the market, with modest share gains for rivals, the analyst writes. He believes Zepatier's early script trajectory is significantly lower than Viekira Pak's with no sign of an inflection or acceleration. The analyst reiterates an Outperform rating on Gilead Sciences with a $127 price target. The drugmaker closed Friday up $1.24 to $91.32.

Cantor Fitzgerald lowered the firm's price target on Gilead to $75 from $78 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The firm, which made slight adjustments to all of its large-cap biotechnology models ahead of Q1 earnings season for the group, lowered its target for Gilead given slower expected HIV growth. The "usual seasonal headwinds that typically make this one of the weaker quarters for the industry," the analyst added in the preview note.