NEW YORK -
Shares of biotechnology company Gilead Sciences Inc. received a boost Friday from a safety board recommendation suggesting some patients should switch to its HIV treatment Truvada.
The stock gained $2.24, or 5 percent, to reach $47.70 in afternoon trading. Shares have traded between $34.15 and $49.05 over the past 52 weeks.
Gilead already has a commanding position in the HIV treatment market, with the three-in-one drug Atripla and Truvada. A National Institutes of Health-sponsored study found that patients with a high viral load were better off taking Truvada than GlaxoSmithKline (nyse: GSK - news - people )'s Epzicom. Several analysts said the results will only help bolster Gilead's position in the market.
"The results provide further proof of something that we already believed, which is that Truvada is the best backbone therapy for HIV," RBC Capital Markets analyst Jason Kantor said in a note to investors.
He reaffirmed a "Outperform" rating, saying the NIH results coupled with other positive study data for Gilead will eventually help it gain 100 percent of the market for new HIV patients.
Goldman Sachs (nyse: GS - news - people ) analyst Meg Malloy, meanwhile, reaffirmed a "Buy" rating for Gilead, citing a series of factors including trends toward earlier treatment and an increase in HIV prevalence.
Citi analyst Dr. Yaron Werber said Gilead could gain 5 cents per share in earnings for every 10 percent market-share gain in the U.S. and 15 percent market-share gain in Europe from patients switching to Truvada. He reaffirmed a "Buy" rating with a $55 price target.
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