All-Star Analysts Discuss GoPro, Apple & Gilead Before They Make Headlines

Earnings season on Wall Street is in full swing with many notable companies posting quarterly reports this week. What are analysts saying about three of the big players posting earnings this week?

Apple Inc. AAPL

Tech giant Apple will be reporting second quarter 2015 earnings after market close on Monday, April 27. Analysts are looking at sales growth in China to boost revenue, especially since the quarter included the Chinese New Year. Apple is expected to sell between 55 million and 60 million iPhones this quarter, which will be at least a 25 percent year-over-year increase. All eyes are on the Apple Watch, but it is unlikely that Apple will provide significant data on the new product, which just began shipping this weekend.

Analysts expect Apple to post revenue of $56 billion, which would be a 23 percent year-over-year increase. Earnings per share are expected to be $2.16 and analysts estimate that Apple will provide guidance of $49.93 billion for the next quarter.

On April 23, Morgan Stanley analyst Kathryn Huberty reiterated a bullish rating on Apple. Short term, Huberty is optimistic about iPhone sales, stock buybacks, and new partnerships such as Apple Pay and television streaming services. Long term, Huberty believes that Apple is “best positioned to capture more of their users’ time in areas such as health, cars and homes.” Huberty has rated Apple 64 times since January 2009, earning an 85 percent success rate recommending the stock with a +31.3 percent average return per Apple rating. Overall, she has a 75 percent success rate recommending stocks with a +19.4 percent average return per rating.

On average, the top analyst consensus for Apple on TipRanks is Moderate Buy.

GoPro Inc GPRO

The action-camera producer will be releasing first quarter 2015 earnings after market close on Tuesday, April 28. GoPro recently made headlines because its CEO, Nick Woodman, is poised to become the highest-paid U.S. executive. This week, however, all eyes will be on GoPro sales. Analysts believe that demand for the action cameras will prove to be better than anticipated.

Analysts are expecting GoPro to sell 1.3 million units in the quarter, which would mark a 50 percent sequential decrease. Analysts estimate $0.18 earnings per share and $341 million in quarterly revenue, though this may be offset by GoPro’s heavy investments in new products.

On April 20, analyst Travis McCourt of Raymond James reiterated a Market Perform rating on GoPro, though he did not provide a price target. McCourt believes demand for the action camera remains “relatively robust” and that there is strong interest to own one. However, he is staying on the sidelines because he believes the stock is trading at a high premium compared to competitors. McCourt has only issued Hold ratings for GoPro so he does not have a success rate or average return for the stock, but he has an overall 67 percent success rate recommending stocks with a +15.3 percent average return per rating.

On average, the top analyst consensus for GoPro on TipRanks is Moderate Buy.

Gilead Sciences, Inc. GILD

The biopharmaceutical company will release first quarter earnings on Thursday, April 30. Gilead made headlines last year with its blockbuster hepatitis C drugs, Sovaldi and Harvoni. Together, these two drugs make up more than half of Gilead’s sales. Sovaldi was approved for use in Japan at the end of March, opening up a large market for the drug. Analysts will be looking to see how pricing competition from AbbVie’s Viekira Pak will impact Gilead’s sales. Additionally, Gilead released new data on April 25 confirming safety and efficacy of Harvoni, as well as “high cure rates across all patients” for Sovaldi.

Analysts estimate that Gilead will post earnings per share of $2.31 and revenue of $6.89 billion, with the majority of revenue still coming from Sovaldi and Harvoni.

Two weeks ago, analyst Brian Skorney of Baird reiterated an Outperform rating on Gilead with a $126 price target, noting that the company is poised to beat first quarter estimates. Skorney noted, “With seasonal weakness and foreign exchange headwinds making commercial therapeutics relatively unattractive across the board for 1Q15 earnings, we think GILD is poised as the outlier that will put up a sizeable beat driven by what we believe will be the biggest quarter for a single therapeutic product (Harvoni) in history.” Skorney has rated Gilead 10 times since August 2012, earning as 78 percent success rate recommending the stock with a +24.4 percent average return per GILD rating. Overall, Skorney has a 66 percent success rate recommending stocks with a +19.7 percent average return per rating.

On average, the top analyst consensus for Gilead Sciences on TipRanks is Strong Buy.