Gilead Falls as Sales of Non-Covid Drugs Seen Weaker

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Investing.com – Gilead Sciences stock (NASDAQ:GILD) fell more than 4% Friday as the maker of remdesivir said sales of non-Covid drugs would be lower in 2021 than earlier forecast.

The company said the pandemic is affecting its business longer than it expected to and was thus lowering its expectations from sales of non-Covid drugs. Excluding Veklury, the brand name Gilead uses to market its patented Covid treatment remdesivir, total product sales are seen around $21.5 billion, lower than the midpoint $21.8 billion it saw earlier.

Sales of Veklury are seen higher now, and the company thus raised its overall outlook.

The company now sees total product sales at $26.15 billion compared to the previous forecast of $24.7 billion.

Gilead now expects to repay $4.75 billion of debt this year, significantly exceeding its prior guidance or paying down at least $4 billion.

Robust sales of remdesivir, arguably one of the few drugs effective against the virus, propelled its third-quarter sales by 13%, to $7.4 billion.

Adjusted profit share was $2.65, higher than last time’s $2.11. Both sales and profit beat estimates.