Piper Jaffray analyst Tyler Van Buren notes that as expected, effective March 16th, Gilead raised list prices of the company's top 6 selling HIV antiviral drugs by 4.9% which includes Atripla, Biktarvy, Descovy, Genvoya, Odefsey, and Truvada. Notably, the price increases were roughly 30% lower than what has been observed in prior years and likely reflects the recent increasing pressure on drug pricing, he contends. The analyst also notes that these increases are well below the high single digit year over year price increases that have been observed with other companies, which Gilead can afford due to strong volume growth of its next generation TAF-based regimens. Van Buren reiterates a Neutral rating and $75 price target on the shares.

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.