GILD spent the first three weeks of January drifting lower until catching an updraft after Trump’s inauguration. That is somewhat ironic, since it is Trump who was viewed as the greatest threat to drug companies such as Gilead. Compounding matters for the healthcare sector is Trump’s disjointed approach to repealing the ACA, which is currently in limbo without a clear plan for replacement.

Against that backdrop, last week Trump met with the CEOs of several major pharmaceutical companies (not including Gilead), and afterwards indicated he may be softening his stance on what he had previously characterized as predatory business practices. Trump suggested he would simplify the process for obtaining FDA approval, and wanted to create a level playing field to eliminate price disparity with foreign-made drugs.

All that is good news for GILD, but even better would be an earnings report on February 7 that catches everyone by surprise. There is lots of room for upgrades if the Wall Street firms that follow GILD like what they hear on Tuesday evening; 11 of them have it rated as a ‘hold’, another 11 rate it as a ‘buy’ while only 6 rank it as a ’strong buy’.

Note: GILD is releasing its quarterly earnings report this evening, so I will add Stock Talk commentary beneath this article after the stock market opens on February 8.