Stock of the Day: Gilead Sciences falls on report the Trump administration could slash funds for HIV prevention

The move:

Gilead Sciences dropped 2.52% in premarket trading, falling to $107.45 per share Wednesday morning. The biopharmaceutical company is up 19.34% for the year.

Why:

The stock’s decline follows a report from
The Wall Street Journal
that the US Health and Human Services Department is considering drastic cuts to federal funding for HIV prevention in the US. Gilead makes treatments for adults with HIV.

Sources told the Journal that the funding cutbacks are part of a broader slash that may soon be announced for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with the Trump administration looking to reorganize the agency.

What it means:

A reduction to the CDC’s HIV budget has implications for drugmakers focused on combating this disease. Aside from Gilead, American depositary shares of GSK fell 2.18% in early trading. The multinational biopharma firm is a majority owner of the HIV-focused company Viiv.

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Business Insider