Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD - option chain) shares are headed higher today after the company reported positive results from a blood pressure drug trial. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on GILD.

GILD opened this morning at $48.31. So far today the stock has hit a low of $46.03 and a high of $48.37. As of 11:35, GILD is trading at $46.49, up $1.79 (4.0%). The chart for GILD looks bullish and S&P gives GILD a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD - option chain) shares are headed higher today after the company posted a fourth-quarter profit of $568.2 million, or 60 cents per share, on revenue of $1.43 billion. Excluding one-time items, GILD earned $598.5 million, or 63 per share, beating analysts' projections of 55 cents per share. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on GILD.

GILD opened this morning at $49.42. So far today the stock has hit a low of $49.20 and a high of $51.15. As of 12:25, GILD is trading at $51.03, up $2.80 (5.8%). The chart for GILD looks bullish and S&P gives GILD a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy ranking.

Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG), a biopharmaceutical company, closed at $50.34. CELG is scheduled to announce Q4 EPS on January 29. CELG February and March option implied volatility of 49 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ) closed at $68.20. GENZ is expected to report Q4 EPS on February 11. Robert W Baird has an $87 price target on GENZ. GENZ February option implied volatility of 40 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD), a biopharmaceutical company, is scheduled to report Q4 EPS on January 27. GILD February option implied volatility of 46 is near its 26-week average according to Track Data, suggesting non-directional price movement.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com

"Long-term, Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) is the best life sciences company on the planet," says biotechnology specialist Michael Shulman in The ChangeWave Biotech Investor.

"Auto sales may plunge, home sales may stay in the tank and retail sales may fall, but disease, old age and human frailty are undeniably 'forever.'

"While the economy in 2009 is almost certainly going to contract, analysts expect the sale of biologic drugs and other life sciences products to increase 12%-15% -- with some winners growing much faster.

"The winners will be rewarded, even in a bear market. In the past year, Gilead has outperformed the Nasdaq by more than 30 percentage points -- and it's doing it as a mature biotech.

Shares of biotechnology company Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) have been plunging this morning, despite the firm posting better-than-expected first quarter earnings per share. Hurting the stock this morning is the company's full-year sales guidance, which was unchanged.

Gilead Sciences reported late yesterday that its profit during the first-quarter jumped 22% to $496.1 million, or 51 cents per share, boosted by strong HIV treatments Atripla and Truvada sales. These numbers are up from $407.4 million, or 43 cents per share reported in the same period a year ago. Analysts' forecast was for lower earnings of 47 cents per share in the quarter.

The company's quarterly revenue also surged by a respectable 22% to $1.26 billion. For this period, the company benefited from strong gains from combination HIV treatment Atripla which came with sales of $342.2 million, a 70 percent rise. HIV drugs sales also saw a growth of 37% to $964.7 million. Analysts, on average, expected Gilead Sciences's sales to be $1.22 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

Readers of this space know that biotech and pharmaceutical companies are not the preferred investment candidates, but there exceptions to the rule, and Gilead Sciences is one.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GILD) is a biopharmaceutical company that concentrates on the research, development, and marketing of anti-infective medications with a primary focus on treatments for HIV.

In general, analysts see Gilead registering 25-30% revenue growth in FY 2008, following solid, double-digit gains in FY 2007. Further, Gilead should also register market share gains for HIV drugs, offsetting likely royalty revenue declines for Tamiflu, in the immediate years ahead.

Technical expert Leo Fasciocco seeks stocks that have broken out from technical basing patterns or those he feels are poised to make such a breakout, such as Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD), which has a "breakout level at $50."

The editor of Ticker Tape Digest explains, "Gilead Sciences, with annual revenues of $4.2 billion, makes therapies to treat life-threatening infectious diseases. It focuses on pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases.

"The company has four products -- Viread, Emtriva, combination pill Truvada, and triple combination Atripla -- in its HIV franchise, as well as Hepsera for hepatitis B. GILD recently received approval for pulmonary arterial hypertension drug Letairis, acquired from Myogen.

"The stock has climbed from $10 to $47 the past five years. It is one of the few stocks now that is knocking on the door of making a new high. With earnings growth to be solid this year and next, we see GILD in a good spot to be accumulated in anticipation of a breakout.

"Of all the stocks that I follow and recommend, there is one stock above all others that I have favored for years, and still do: Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD)," says biotechnology sector expert Michael Shulman.

In his industry-leading ChangeWave Biotech Investor, he explains, "I have owned it for a very-long time and it is fast-growing and rock solid among all of the market uncertainty. When that uncertainty ends, GILD will still be a fast-grower in a recessionary economy."

"The company is a commanding market leader in HIV treatments, sells and collects royalties on other antivirals for flu and Hepatitis B. Gilead recently announced earnings and it had profits of $402 million or 41 cents a share, topping analyst estimates by a penny. It also saw sales grow 22% to $1.1 billion. Despite several product launches and increased clinical trial expenses, the company's cash position doubled to $2.7 billion.

"On a conference call, management said that 2008 would be a very good year, with product sales in the range of $4.7 billion to $4.8 billion. That's more than a 25% increase over 2007 product sales and higher than analyst expectations of $4.6 billion.

"Growth was driven by HIV drug sales, which were up 35% last quarter to $864 million. Management does not guide profit expectations, but the Street has those profits at around $1.88 billion, and Gilead has beaten expectations 14 out of the last 15 quarters.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) shares are trading higher this morning in anticipation of a presentation by COO John F. Milligan, Ph.D. at the 19th Annual Piper Jaffray Healthcare Conference in New York. Milligan will will provide an overview of the company at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, which will be webcast on the company's website, www.gilead.com. If you think that the company won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on GILD.

After hitting a one-year high of $47.65 earlier this month, the stock has dropped off slightly. GILD opened this morning at $42.66. So far today the stock has hit a low of $42.36 and a high of $43.72. As of 11:15, GILD is trading at $43.52, up $1.61 (3.8%). The chart for GILD looks bullish but deteriorating, while S&P gives the stock a positive 4 STARS (out of 5) buy rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider a February bull-put credit spread below the $35 range. A bull-put credit spread is an options position that combines the purchase and sale of put options to hedge risk in case the stock doesn't do what you think but still leverage nice returns. For this particular trade, we will make a 6.4% return in just 3 months as long as GILD is above $35 at February expiration. Gilead would have to fall by more than 19% before we would start to lose money.

GILD hasn't been below $35 since March and has shown support around $42 recently. This trade could be risky if one of the company's drugs runs afoul of the FDA, but even if that happens, this stock could be protected by strong support GILD found around $36 in August. Plus, the stock could find support at its 200 day moving average, which is currently at $40 and rising.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls positions in GILD.

Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) opened at $81.24. So far today the stock has hit a low of $80.48 and a high of $82.17. As of 10:45, GILD is trading at 81.85, up 1.21 (1.5%).

The stock made a strong push in early spring to reach the low 80's and a one year high of 84.47 in May. The US Government has recently been ramping up efforts to fight against any future potential flu pandemic, including awarding multi-million dollar contracts to Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: SNY) and MedImmune (NASDAQ: MEDI) to increase their capacity to produce flu vaccines. GILD, maker of Tamiflu, could stand to benefit from such efforts as well. Recent technical indicators for GILD have been bullish but deteriorating, while S&P gives the stock a 4 STARS (out of 5) buy rating.

For a bullish hedged play on this stock, I would consider an August bull-put credit spread below the $70 range. GILD hasn't been below $70 since January and has shown support around $78 recently. This trade could be risky if the FDA finds trouble with one of GILD's drugs, but even if that happens, this position could be protected by the support around $70 combined with its 200 day moving average, which is currently at $71 and rising.

Brent Archer is an options analyst and writer at Investors Observer. Do you have any deadwood in your portfolio? Check out the 18 Warning Signs That Tell You When To Dump A Stock.

DISCLOSURE: Mr. Archer owns and/or controls diversified portfolios of long and short stock and option positions that may include holdings in companies he writes about. At publication time, Brent neither owns nor controls a position in GILD or MEDI. He does control a bullish hedged position in SNY.

"If you combine the growth of a small company with the financial muscle of a large company and put them in a single syringe, you get Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD)," says Jon Markman.

Gilead, he notes, which develops and markets drugs for patients suffering from HIV, Hepatitis B and other life-threatening illnesses, is an emerging giant of the biotech world." Indeed, the company is best known for its leading HIV treatments.

In his Strategic Advantage, the advisor says, "I like their current drug portfolio, but I am just as impressed with its pipeline of new therapies. In the first quarter of 2007, GILD reported a earnings growth of 55%, with sales of Hepsera, a hepatitis drug, up 35%."

He notes that sales of HIV drugs rose by 56%. He adds, "The picture for the rest of the year and 2008 look equally bright for GILD, as it has quite a number of similarly strong drug candidates in trials."

Meanwhile, he observes, the company has just come into the spotlight again due to new scientific findings about Ambrisentan, a drug created to treat Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. He explains, "PAH, as it is known to docs, creates an increase in blood pressure in patients' arteries."

MOST NOTEWORTHY: Borders Group Inc (NYSE: BGP), Cache Inc (NASDAQ: CACH) and Gilead Sciences Inc (NASDAQ: GILD) were today's noteworthy downgrades:

• Borders Group was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, as the firm believes a merger with Barnes & Noble Inc (NYSE: BKS) is less likely following the FTC's decision to oppose the Whole Foods Market Inc (NASDAQ: WFMI) and Wild Oats Markets Inc (NASDAQ: OATS) deal.
• Cache was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Soleil, as the firm recommends staying on the sidelines until execution improves. Merriman also downgraded shares, to Neutral from Buy, to reflect the company's outlook for the remainder of FY07. Merriman believes upside may be limited until Cache can show consistently improved sales and earnings results.
• Gilead Sciences was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank and to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse citing high expectations for the company and little room to beat Street estimates.

OTHER DOWNGRADES:

• Merrill Lynch downgraded shares of Adams Respiratory Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: ARXT), Par Pharmaceutical Companies Inc (NYSE: PRX) and Sepracor Inc (NASDAQ: SEPR) to Neutral from Buy.
• First Albany downgraded shares of Volterra Semiconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: VLTR) to Buy from Strong Buy.
  
• ThinkEquity downgraded shares of Cree Inc (NASDAQ: CREE) to Sell from Accumulate.
• Morgan Keegan downgraded shares of Panera Bread Company (NASDAQ: PNRA) to Market Perform and Outperform following weak same-store-sales and guidance.

Following its latest earnings report, Bill Martin notes, "Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: GILD) has shown once again showed that its HIV drug franchise is truly best-in-class."

The editor of the FindProfit trading service reports that Gilead earned a profit of $407.4 million, or 85 cents per share. Excluding stock-based compensation, he notes, EPS was 93 cents.

He also notes that analysts were looking for EPS of 80 cents per share. Meanwhile, revenues jumped 49% to $1.03 billion from $692.9 million a year ago, and above the consensus of $990 million.

The advisor explains, "Gilead saw great overall growth among its anti-HIV drugs. Truvada, which accounted for 41% of GILD's product sales, led the way with a 39% year-over-year increase in sales."

He points out that Atripla is the combination of Bristol-Myers Squibb's Sustiva and Gilead's Truvada. The latter is a combination of Gilead drugs, Emtriva and Viread.

Martin notes, "The continued solid growth of Truvada sales after the launch of Atripla indicates that this drug may not totally cannibalize the sales of Truvada and GILD's other older anti-HIV drugs."

Meanwhile, the advisor notes that the overall biotech sector has been making a "nice comeback of late," and GILD has been a strong performer. He says, "With management leaving its conservative guidance intact, we think the stock has room to 'surprise' to the upside later this year.

He also sees the stock as defensive and notes, "If the economy is showing signs of peaking, a stock like GILD is a good candidate to outperform the market."

For more stock picks from the leading financial newsletter advisors, visit Steven Halpern's free daily website, TheStockAdvisors.com.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) was founded a short 20 years ago in the Bay Area-near San Francisco. I say short 20 years, because this company has accomplished so much in this time period. GILD is a $3.9 billion revenue company this year and is expected to put up $4.7-4.8 billion in 2008. By any measure, excellent growth on the top line. The bottom line calls for $$2.90 per share this year, growing to $3.30 per share for 2008. Many will argue this 2008 number is very, very conservative.

What makes Gilead so special? They have the right drug therapies for some nasty afflictions. Gilead offers three major drugs for the treatment of HIV. The most recent FDA approved drug is Atripla, which is a once a day pill for HIV patients. GILD also owns the major part of the Hepatitis B market with Hepsera. Gilead is the maker of Tamiflu which treats influenza. Tamiflu is being stock piled by the US government in the event of a bird-flu pandemic. But general practitioners may also prescribes Tamiflu.

GILD is also deeply involved in age-related macular degeneration, which is a horrible eyesight affliction. The drug Macugen is another blockbuster treating this wicked disease. The company has many other potential drugs in various stages of clinical trials, the lifeline of future growth.

GILD will be a leader in the bio tech field for many years to come. The first 20 years as one major portfolio manager told me "was nothing compared to their future". On this name, Jim Cramer is spot on!!

Georges Yared is the author of "Stop Losing Money Today" and "Baby Boomer Investing...Where do we go from here?"

Bill Martin, editor of FindProfit recently added Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) to his long-term growth portfolio, and the stock has risen sharply following a strong fourth quarter report.

According to Martin, the company saw particular strength in its HIV franchise. He explains, "Gilead's HIV treatments (Viread, Truvada, Atripla, and Emtriva) were clear winners, with sales growing 67% to $642.4 million and surpassing Wall Street's expectation of $628.7 million in sales."

Although the company reported a net loss of $1.67 billion, or -$3.62 per share, for the quarter, the advisor explains that by backing out a charge of $2.04 billion for its acquisitions of Corus and Myogen, the company actually earned a profit of 78 cents per share versus 59 cents per share a year ago.

Also for the quarter, he notes that revenue jumped 48% year over year to $899.2 million. These results, he points out, "handily" beat analyst expectations of 68 cents EPS on revenue of $850.9 million.