Health Care ETFs Remain Unfazed by Price Reductions from Major Pharmaceutical Companies
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Dec 19 2025
0mins
Should l Buy GILD?
Source: Benzinga
Impact of Drug Pricing Deals: Big pharmaceutical companies are negotiating with the U.S. government to lower Medicaid drug prices, but analysts believe the financial impact on these companies may be less severe than initially feared.
Medicaid's Role in Drug Pricing: Medicaid accounts for about 10% of U.S. prescription drug spending and often secures significant discounts, which helps mitigate concerns over pricing pressures on pharmaceutical companies.
Resilience of Health Care ETFs: Diversified health care ETFs, such as the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund and Vanguard Health Care ETF, are performing well and provide a buffer against potential volatility from drug pricing news.
Pharma-Specific ETFs and Diversification: While specialized pharmaceutical ETFs may face more direct impacts from pricing negotiations, their diversified structures help reduce risks associated with individual companies, allowing them to remain stable amidst market fluctuations.
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Analyst Views on GILD
Wall Street analysts forecast GILD stock price to rise
19 Analyst Rating
16 Buy
3 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 132.690
Low
105.00
Averages
137.88
High
154.00
Current: 132.690
Low
105.00
Averages
137.88
High
154.00
About GILD
Gilead Sciences, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company. It is engaged in advancing medicines to prevent and treat life-threatening diseases, including HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19, cancer, and inflammation. It is focused on discovering, developing, and delivering medicines to address unmet medical needs in virology, oncology, and other therapeutic areas. Its portfolio of marketed products includes Biktarvy, Genvoya, Descovy, Complera/Eviplera, Symtuza, Truvada, Stribild, Sunlenca, Epclusa, Vemlidy, Harvoni, Viread, Livdelzi, Veklury, Yescarta, Tecartus, Trodelvy, AmBisome, and Letairis. Its product candidates include Bulevirtide, Lenacapavir, Axicabtagene ciloleucel, Sacituzumab govitecan-hziy, and others. It also develops the HB-400 program and the HB-500 program. It develops therapies that are intended to provide functional cures for hepatitis B virus and human immunodeficiency virus-1. It has a cancer program, namely TREX1. It operates in more than 35 countries worldwide.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- China's Market Growth: The pharmaceutical segment grew 14%, with China leading at over 50% growth, while India and Japan saw low-teens growth, highlighting China's rapid emergence as a key player in global pharmaceutical innovation and market expansion.
- Innovation-Driven Transformation: Despite a decline in China's generic drug market due to price restrictions, the development of innovative drugs is reshaping the landscape, with contract manufacturers rapidly scaling up to manage the entire process from discovery to development, aiming to create entities akin to Pfizer or AstraZeneca.
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- Insurance Coverage Issues: While Gilead claims over 90% of insurers cover Yeztugo, many patients face injection costs exceeding $14,000 and insurance denials, leading them to opt for cheaper daily medications, which impacts sales growth.
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- Multi-Year Supply Agreements: SanDisk has signed five multi-year supply agreements valued at over $11 billion, ensuring stable demand for its customers and indicating strong bargaining power for memory manufacturers, which could impact future sales and margins.
See More
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- Patent Cliffs Catalyst: Pharmaceutical companies are accelerating M&A due to impending patent cliffs, with over $300 billion in revenue facing loss of exclusivity in the next five years, particularly with Merck's Keytruda losing exclusivity in 2028, adding to market uncertainty.
- Strong Cash Reserves Fuel Acquisitions: Eli Lilly, for instance, ended 2025 with over $7.27 billion in cash and equivalents, having spent over $35 billion on acquisitions in 2023, demonstrating that strong financial positions make M&A decisions more justifiable at the board level.
- Mid-Sized Deals Dominate: Recent CEO transitions at GSK and Novo Nordisk have led to more aggressive M&A strategies, with analysts noting that the global revenue exposed to patent expirations over the next seven years is 2.5 times higher than in the last 16 years, further driving the activity in mid-sized deals.
See More
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- Conference Schedule: Gilead Sciences has announced its participation in several investor conferences, including the BofA Securities Health Care Conference on May 12, RBC Capital Markets Global Healthcare Conference on May 19, Bernstein Annual Strategic Decisions Conference on May 28, and Goldman Sachs Annual Global Healthcare Conference on June 9, highlighting its leadership in the biopharmaceutical sector.
- Live Webcasts: All conferences will be accessible via the company's investor page, allowing investors to view live presentations and access replays for at least 30 days post-event, ensuring broad dissemination and transparency of information.
- Company Background: Gilead Sciences is a biopharmaceutical company with over three decades of breakthroughs in medicine, committed to developing innovative therapies to prevent and treat life-threatening diseases such as HIV, viral hepatitis, COVID-19, and cancer, reflecting its responsibility in global health.
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See More
