UPDATE 3-Gilead profit rises a higher-than-expected 21 pct

* Gilead 1st-quarter net EPS 63 cents

* Product sales rise 27 pct to $1.45 bln

* Shares up 3.8 percent after hours (Adds analyst comments, company comment)

By Deena Beasley

LOS ANGELES, April 21 (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences Inc (GILD.O) said on Tuesday first-quarter profit rose 21 percent, topping analysts' expectations, on increased sales of its drugs to treat the virus that causes AIDS.

Gilead repeated its forecast for 2009 product sales of $5.9 billion to $6 billion, but shares still rose nearly 4 percent after hours on relief that sales trajectories are on track.

The forecast does not include products from cardiovascular drug maker CV Therapeutics, which Gilead acquired last week.

"It's just very early in the year and we're very reluctant to (update the outlook) until we have a couple of quarters under our belt and really understand what's going on, especially with foreign currency fluctuations," Gilead President and Chief Operating Officer John Milligan said on a conference call.

The Foster City, California-based biotechnology company also said HIV drug Atripla, which combines Gilead's Truvada with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's (BMY.N) Sustiva into a single pill, has been approved for reimbursement in France.