BMO says WSJ report on RFK potential headwind for Gilead

BMO Capital keeps an Outperform rating Gilead (GILD) after the Wall Street Journal reported that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to remove all members of the preventative services task force. The views the report as a potential headwind to Gilead, saying the Supreme Court’s Braidwood decision only concretized the power of RFK’s Department of Health and Human Services to decide what is necessary preventative care, rather than outright protecting pre-exposure prophylaxis. BMO says that while there was no curt decision on the status of pre-exposure prophylaxis as necessary preventative care, the zero copay protected status is key component of its bullish view of the ongoing launch of Gilead’s Yeztugo. Gilead is morning trading is down 2% to $113.97.