Healthcare Stocks List

Compare healthcare stocks and their fundamentals, performance, price, and technicals. Use this free stock comparison tool to evaluate companies based on their analyst ratings, book value, debt, dividend, MarketRank, news sentiment, price performance, profitability, and more. Enter up to ten stock symbols separated by a comma or space (ex. BAC, JPM, WFC, C, GS).

Learn more about trading healthcare stocks.

NASDAQ:CRSP NYSE:ABT NYSE:CVS NYSE:JNJ NYSE:LLY NYSE:MRK NYSE:NVS NYSE:PFE NYSE:TDOC NYSE:UNH

Compare Stocks - Price & Volume

Company	Current Price	50-Day Moving Average	52-Week Range	Market Cap	Beta	Avg. Volume	Today's Volume
CRSP CRISPR Therapeutics	$63.45 -1.5%	$50.17	$38.94 ▼ $86.95	$5.01 B	1.71	1.23 million shs	1.05 million shs
ABT Abbott Laboratories	$108.47 -0.3%	$104.65	$93.25 ▼ $118.23	$188.62 B	0.67	5.10 million shs	3.48 million shs
CVS CVS Health	$69.31 -0.2%	$73.60	$67.05 ▼ $107.26	$88.86 B	0.61	9.03 million shs	10.53 million shs
JNJ Johnson & Johnson	$158.48 -0.3%	$159.41	$150.11 ▼ $183.35	$411.85 B	0.53	7.74 million shs	5.17 million shs
LLY Eli Lilly and	$437.89 +0.1%	$373.18	$283.11 ▼ $445.54	$415.68 B	0.37	3.18 million shs	2.24 million shs
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.	$114.00 -0.7%	$111.97	$83.05 ▼ $119.65	$289.27 B	0.34	7.89 million shs	6.43 million shs
NVS Novartis	$100.35 -0.9%	$95.01	$74.09 ▼ $105.56	$212.70 B	0.54	2.12 million shs	1.98 million shs
PFE Pfizer	$36.48 -0.7%	$39.79	$36.17 ▼ $54.93	$205.94 B	0.63	22.55 million shs	27.27 million shs
TDOC Teladoc Health	$24.13 -1.0%	$25.54	$21.60 ▼ $44.66	$3.95 B	1.08	4.04 million shs	3.32 million shs
UNH UnitedHealth Group	$479.23 -1.2%	$487.97	$449.70 ▼ $558.10	$446.18 B	0.68	3.37 million shs	3.01 million shs

Price Performance

Company	1-Day Performance	7-Day Performance	30-Day Performance	90-Day Performance	1-Year Performance
CRSP CRISPR Therapeutics	+4.39%	-4.96%	+18.64%	+27.44%	+18.49%
ABT Abbott Laboratories	-0.52%	-1.69%	+4.11%	+2.58%	-4.99%
CVS CVS Health	+3.47%	-0.40%	-8.40%	-21.08%	-30.14%
JNJ Johnson & Johnson	-0.22%	-1.65%	-4.03%	+0.47%	-11.09%
LLY Eli Lilly and	+0.19%	+0.36%	+17.49%	+34.16%	+45.15%
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.	-1.14%	-2.66%	-0.22%	+7.75%	+23.40%
NVS Novartis	-1.55%	-2.33%	+3.32%	+17.75%	+15.13%
PFE Pfizer	-0.70%	-4.05%	-10.76%	-14.44%	-28.42%
TDOC Teladoc Health	+1.97%	-1.57%	-5.76%	-19.86%	-25.78%
UNH UnitedHealth Group	+1.06%	-1.07%	-4.06%	-0.52%	-1.57%

MarketRank™

Company	Overall Score	Analyst's Opinion	Short Interest Score	Dividend Strength	ESG Score	News and Social Media Sentiment	Company Ownership	Earnings & Valuation
CRSP CRISPR Therapeutics	1.8087 of 5 stars	3.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.8	2.5	0.6
ABT Abbott Laboratories	3.222 of 5 stars	3.3	5.0	4.2	4.5	2.4	2.5	1.9
CVS CVS Health	3.2665 of 5 stars	4.4	3.0	2.5	3.9	3.0	3.3	1.9
JNJ Johnson & Johnson	2.8386 of 5 stars	2.2	5.0	3.3	3.9	3.2	2.5	1.9
LLY Eli Lilly and	3.1136 of 5 stars	2.4	5.0	3.3	4.0	2.9	2.5	3.1
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.	3.1568 of 5 stars	2.3	5.0	4.2	4.0	2.6	2.5	3.1
NVS Novartis	2.0032 of 5 stars	1.0	5.0	2.5	0.0	2.4	0.0	2.5
PFE Pfizer	3.4297 of 5 stars	4.2	3.0	5.0	4.6	2.2	3.3	1.9
TDOC Teladoc Health	2.2838 of 5 stars	4.1	1.0	0.0	0.0	3.4	2.5	0.6
UNH UnitedHealth Group	3.2377 of 5 stars	3.5	3.0	4.2	4.0	3.3	2.5	2.5

Analyst Ratings

Company	Consensus Rating Score	Consensus Rating	Consensus Price Target	% Upside from Current Price
CRSP CRISPR Therapeutics	2.47	Hold	$72.58	14.39% Upside
ABT Abbott Laboratories	2.63	Moderate Buy	$122.37	12.81% Upside
CVS CVS Health	2.82	Moderate Buy	$110.00	58.71% Upside
JNJ Johnson & Johnson	2.46	Hold	$173.00	9.16% Upside
LLY Eli Lilly and	2.71	Moderate Buy	$415.75	-5.06% Downside
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.	2.70	Moderate Buy	$120.75	5.92% Upside
NVS Novartis	2.09	Hold	$82.25	-18.04% Downside
PFE Pfizer	2.31	Hold	$47.33	29.75% Upside
TDOC Teladoc Health	2.29	Hold	$32.78	35.86% Upside
UNH UnitedHealth Group	2.94	Moderate Buy	$600.88	25.38% Upside

Current Analyst Ratings

Latest Healthcare Stocks Analyst Ratings

Date	Company	Brokerage	Action	Rating	Price Target
5/17/2023	PFE Pfizer	Cantor Fitzgerald Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Overweight
5/15/2023	LLY Eli Lilly and	Morgan Stanley Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Price Target		$478.00 ➝ $507.00
5/11/2023	PFE Pfizer	Daiwa Capital Markets Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Downgrade	Outperform ➝ Neutral	$38.00
5/9/2023	CRSP CRISPR Therapeutics	VNET Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Reiterates
5/9/2023	CRSP CRISPR Therapeutics	Stifel Nicolaus Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Price Target		$69.00 ➝ $64.00
5/8/2023	CVS CVS Health	92 Resources Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Maintains
5/8/2023	CVS CVS Health	Wells Fargo & Company Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Price Target		$95.00 ➝ $76.00
5/8/2023	CVS CVS Health	Credit Suisse Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Price Target		$125.00 ➝ $96.00
5/5/2023	JNJ Johnson & Johnson	Credit Suisse Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Price Target		$168.00 ➝ $170.00
5/5/2023	PFE Pfizer	UBS Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Price Target		$41.00 ➝ $39.00
5/4/2023	CVS CVS Health	Truist Financial Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Price Target		$115.00 ➝ $109.00

(Data available from 5/18/2020 forward. View 10+ years of historical ratings with our analyst ratings screener.)

Sales & Book Value

Company	Annual Revenue	Price/Sales	Cashflow	Price/Cash	Book Value	Price/Book
CRSP CRISPR Therapeutics	$1.20M	4,173.42	N/A	N/A	$23.50 per share	2.70
ABT Abbott Laboratories	$41.51B	4.54	$7.24 per share	14.98	$21.41 per share	5.07
CVS CVS Health	$330.92B	0.27	$12.38 per share	5.60	$55.83 per share	1.24
JNJ Johnson & Johnson	$94.94B	4.34	$12.94 per share	12.25	$27.27 per share	5.81
LLY Eli Lilly and	$28.54B	14.56	$9.19 per share	47.64	$11.90 per share	36.80
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.	$59.28B	4.88	$8.88 per share	12.84	$18.49 per share	6.17
NVS Novartis	$50.55B	4.21	$6.15 per share	16.32	$24.60 per share	4.08
PFE Pfizer	$92.95B	2.22	$7.51 per share	4.86	$17.93 per share	2.03
TDOC Teladoc Health	$2.41B	1.64	$83.21 per share	0.29	$14.00 per share	1.72
UNH UnitedHealth Group	$324.16B	1.38	$26.17 per share	18.31	$92.18 per share	5.20

Profitability & Earnings

Company	Net Income	EPS	Trailing P/E Ratio	Forward P/E Ratio	P/E Growth	Net Margins	Return on Equity (ROE)	Return on Assets (ROA)	Next Earnings Date
CRSP CRISPR Therapeutics	-$650.17M	-$6.72	N/A	N/A	N/A	-516.43%	-26.64%	-22.26%	8/14/2023 (Estimated)
ABT Abbott Laboratories	$6.93B	$3.29	32.97	23.94	4.90	13.98%	22.36%	11.11%	7/19/2023 (Estimated)
CVS CVS Health	$4.15B	$3.03	22.87	7.78	1.22	1.20%	15.75%	4.91%	8/2/2023 (Estimated)
JNJ Johnson & Johnson	$17.94B	$4.78	33.15	14.39	2.72	13.22%	36.13%	14.66%	7/18/2023 (Estimated)
LLY Eli Lilly and	$6.24B	$6.29	69.62	36.74	2.32	20.54%	61.42%	12.74%	8/3/2023 (Estimated)
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.	$14.52B	$5.12	22.27	13.48	2.02	22.52%	37.92%	15.90%	7/27/2023 (Estimated)
NVS Novartis	$6.96B	$3.25	30.88	13.90	1.72	13.78%	23.29%	11.64%	7/18/2023 (Estimated)
PFE Pfizer	$31.37B	$5.08	7.18	10.73	1.23	31.25%	37.53%	18.08%	7/27/2023 (Estimated)
TDOC Teladoc Health	-$13.66B	-$43.58	N/A	N/A	N/A	-285.51%	-5.81%	-3.91%	7/26/2023 (Estimated)
UNH UnitedHealth Group	$20.12B	$21.87	21.91	17.10	1.39	6.16%	27.05%	8.68%	7/21/2023 (Estimated)

Latest Healthcare Stocks Earnings

Date	Quarter	Company	Consensus Estimate	Reported EPS	Beat/Miss	Gap EPS	Revenue Estimate	Actual Revenue
5/8/2023	Q1 2023	CRSP CRISPR Therapeutics	-$1.64	-$0.67	+$0.97	-$0.67	$24.33 million	$100.00 million
5/3/2023	Q1 2023	CVS CVS Health	$2.07	$2.20	+$0.13	$2.75	$80.67 billion	$85.28 billion
5/2/2023	Q1 2023	PFE Pfizer	$1.00	$1.23	+$0.23	$1.49	$16.49 billion	$18.28 billion
4/27/2023	Q1 23	LLY Eli Lilly and	$1.73	$1.62	-$0.11	$1.75	$6.87 billion	$6.96 billion
4/27/2023	Q1 2023	MRK Merck & Co., Inc.	$1.34	$1.40	+$0.06	$1.69	$13.81 billion	$14.49 billion
4/26/2023	Q1 2023	TDOC Teladoc Health	-$0.51	-$0.37	+$0.14	-$0.32	$617.55 million	$629.24 million
4/25/2023	Q1 2023	NVS Novartis	$1.55	$1.71	+$0.16	$2.34	$12.60 billion	$12.95 billion
4/19/2023	Q1 23	ABT Abbott Laboratories	$0.98	$1.03	+$0.05	$1.31	$9.64 billion	$9.75 billion
4/18/2023	Q1 23	JNJ Johnson & Johnson	$2.51	$2.68	+$0.17	$5.39	$23.61 billion	$24.75 billion
4/14/2023	Q1 23	UNH UnitedHealth Group	$6.24	$6.26	+$0.02	$6.57	$89.77 billion	$91.93 billion
2/22/2023	Q4 2022	TDOC Teladoc Health	-$0.27	-$0.23	+$0.04	$23.03	$633.71 million	$637.71 million

Dividends

Company	Annual Payout	Dividend Yield	3-Year Dividend Growth	Payout Ratio	Years of Consecutive Growth
CRSP CRISPR Therapeutics	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
ABT Abbott Laboratories	$2.04	1.88%	+13.30%	62.01%	51 Years
CVS CVS Health	$2.42	3.49%	+4.08%	79.87%	1 Years
JNJ Johnson & Johnson	$4.52	2.85%	+5.87%	94.56%	62 Years
LLY Eli Lilly and	$4.52	1.03%	+15.02%	71.86%	9 Years
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.	$2.92	2.56%	+7.40%	57.03%	12 Years
NVS Novartis	$2.27	2.26%	N/A	69.85%	4 Years
PFE Pfizer	$1.64	4.50%	+3.31%	32.28%	12 Years
TDOC Teladoc Health	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
UNH UnitedHealth Group	$6.60	1.38%	+15.63%	30.18%	13 Years

Latest Healthcare Stocks Dividends

Announcement	Company	Period	Amount	Yield	Ex-Dividend Date	Record Date	Payable Date
5/1/2023	LLY Eli Lilly and	quarterly	$1.13	1.11%	5/12/2023	5/15/2023	6/9/2023
4/26/2023	PFE Pfizer	quarterly	$0.41	4.25%	5/11/2023	5/12/2023	6/9/2023
4/18/2023	JNJ Johnson & Johnson	Quarterly	$1.19	2.96%	5/22/2023	5/23/2023	6/6/2023
3/16/2023	CVS CVS Health	quarterly	$0.6050	3.19%	4/20/2023	4/21/2023	5/1/2023
2/27/2023	UNH UnitedHealth Group	quarterly	$1.65	1.36%	3/10/2023	3/13/2023	3/21/2023

(Data available from 1/1/2013 forward)

Debt

Company	Debt-to-Equity Ratio	Current Ratio	Quick Ratio
CRSP CRISPR Therapeutics	N/A	13.00	13.00
ABT Abbott Laboratories	0.39	1.68	1.22
CVS CVS Health	0.79	0.92	0.67
JNJ Johnson & Johnson	0.49	1.07	0.85
LLY Eli Lilly and	1.67	1.30	1.02
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.	0.60	1.44	1.19
NVS Novartis	0.39	1.05	0.79
PFE Pfizer	0.31	1.37	1.11
TDOC Teladoc Health	0.67	3.37	3.25
UNH UnitedHealth Group	0.71	0.81	0.81

Ownership

Institutional Ownership

Company	Institutional Ownership
CRSP CRISPR Therapeutics	71.51%
ABT Abbott Laboratories	72.93%
CVS CVS Health	77.29%
JNJ Johnson & Johnson	67.94%
LLY Eli Lilly and	82.13%
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.	72.89%
NVS Novartis	8.12%
PFE Pfizer	67.62%
TDOC Teladoc Health	84.14%
UNH UnitedHealth Group	86.31%

Insider Ownership

Company	Insider Ownership
CRSP CRISPR Therapeutics	5.30%
ABT Abbott Laboratories	1.10%
CVS CVS Health	0.25%
JNJ Johnson & Johnson	0.20%
LLY Eli Lilly and	0.13%
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.	0.20%
NVS Novartis	0.01%
PFE Pfizer	0.05%
TDOC Teladoc Health	1.63%
UNH UnitedHealth Group	0.35%

Miscellaneous

Company	Employees	Shares Outstanding	Free Float	Optionable
CRSP CRISPR Therapeutics	473	78.93 million	74.75 million	Optionable
ABT Abbott Laboratories	115,000	1.74 billion	1.72 billion	Optionable
CVS CVS Health	300,000	1.28 billion	1.28 billion	Optionable
JNJ Johnson & Johnson	155,800	2.60 billion	2.59 billion	Optionable
LLY Eli Lilly and	39,000	949.27 million	948.04 million	Optionable
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.	69,000	2.54 billion	2.53 billion	Optionable
NVS Novartis	101,703	2.12 billion	2.12 billion	Optionable
PFE Pfizer	83,000	5.65 billion	5.64 billion	Optionable
TDOC Teladoc Health	5,600	163.67 million	161.00 million	Optionable
UNH UnitedHealth Group	400,000	931.03 million	927.77 million	Optionable

Healthcare Stocks Headlines

Source	Headline
	Here’s Why UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) Declined in Q1 After Strong Performance in 2022 finance.yahoo.com - May 18 at 10:15 AM
	UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) Now Covered by StockNews.com marketbeat.com - May 18 at 2:15 AM
	Unusual Put Option Trade in Unitedhealth Group (UNH) Worth $2,041.25K msn.com - May 17 at 10:30 PM
	How to Invest in Telehealth and Telemedicine Stocks (UNH) marketbeat.com - May 17 at 12:50 PM
	UnitedHealth Group's Upcoming Dividend Increase seekingalpha.com - May 17 at 11:08 AM
	Q3 2024 EPS Estimates for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated Lifted by Zacks Research (NYSE:UNH) americanbankingnews.com - May 16 at 4:22 AM
	UnitedHealth Group Insiders Sell US$23m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution uk.finance.yahoo.com - May 15 at 8:45 AM
$UnitedHealth Group Insiders Sell US$23m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution \$	UnitedHealth Group Insiders Sell US$23m Of Stock, Possibly Signalling Caution \ finance.yahoo.com - May 15 at 8:45 AM
	UnitedHealth Group is an AI Stock That Isn't Beating Expectations marketbeat.com - May 15 at 8:17 AM
	Zacks Research Analysts Boost Earnings Estimates for UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) marketbeat.com - May 15 at 4:23 AM
	Brokerages Set UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) PT at $600.88 americanbankingnews.com - May 15 at 3:18 AM
	IMS Capital Management Grows Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) marketbeat.com - May 12 at 1:38 PM
	3 Boring Stocks That Do 1 Thing Exceptionally Well: Make Shareholders Richer finance.yahoo.com - May 12 at 8:00 AM
	The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights UnitedHealth Group, Merck, Texas Instruments, The TJX Companies and Johnson Controls International finance.yahoo.com - May 12 at 8:00 AM
	UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Brokerages marketbeat.com - May 12 at 1:19 AM
	Why the S&P 500 Is the Better Market Index—and How to Tweak the Dow to Your Liking finance.yahoo.com - May 11 at 4:59 PM
	RENASANT Bank Increases Stake in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) marketbeat.com - May 11 at 2:09 PM
	5 Best Healthcare Sector ETFs (UNH) marketbeat.com - May 10 at 11:40 AM
	What Makes UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) a Unique Investment Bet? finance.yahoo.com - May 10 at 4:28 AM
	Investigating the $66K Congressional Sell-Off of UnitedHealth Group Stock msn.com - May 9 at 12:51 PM
	UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Shares Acquired by Glenview Trust Co marketbeat.com - May 5 at 1:57 PM
	Regeneron Beats Q1 Views, But Stock Drops On Weak Eye Med Sales (UNH) marketbeat.com - May 5 at 6:35 AM
	3 of the Best Growth Stocks to Buy in May finance.yahoo.com - May 3 at 10:19 AM
	Andrew Witty Sells 6,160 Shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) Stock americanbankingnews.com - May 3 at 4:36 AM

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Company Descriptions

CRISPR Therapeutics

NASDAQ:CRSP

CRISPR Therapeutics is a gene-editing company focused on developing transformative gene-based medicines for serious diseases using its proprietary CRISPR/Cas9 platform. CRISPR/Cas9 is a revolutionary gene-editing technology that allows for precise, directed changes to genomic DNA. CRISPR Therapeutics has established a portfolio of therapeutic programs across a broad range of disease areas including hemoglobinopathies, oncology, regenerative medicine and rare diseases. To accelerate and expand its efforts, CRISPR Therapeutics has established strategic collaborations with companies including Bayer, Vertex Pharmaceuticals and ViaCyte, Inc. CRISPR Therapeutics AG is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, with its wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary, CRISPR Therapeutics, Inc., and R&D operations based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and business offices in San Francisco, California and London, United Kingdom. For more information, please visit www.crisprtx.com.

Abbott Laboratories

NYSE:ABT

Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of a broad and diversified line of health care products. It operates through the following business segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment refers to the international sales of a line of branded generic pharmaceutical products. The Diagnostic Products segment markets diagnostic systems and tests for blood banks, hospitals, commercial laboratories, and alternate-care testing sites. The Nutritional Products segment caters to the worldwide sales of adult and pediatric nutritional products. The Medical Devices segment includes electrophysiology, heart failure, vascular and structural heart devices for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes care products for people with diabetes, as well as neuromodulation devices for the management of chronic pain and movement disorders. The company was founded by Wallace Calvin Abbott in 1888 and is headquartered in Abbott Park, IL.

CVS Health

NYSE:CVS

CVS Health Corp. is a health solutions company, which engages in the provision of healthcare services. It operates through the following segments: Pharmacy Services, Retail or Long-Term Care, Health Care Benefits, and Corporate and Other. The Pharmacy Services segment focuses on the pharmacy benefit management solutions. The Retail or Long-Term Care segment includes the sale of prescription drugs and an assortment of health and wellness products, and general merchandise. The Health Care Benefits segment offers traditional, voluntary, and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental and behavioral health plans, medical management capabilities, Medicare Advantage and Medicare Supplement plans, Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, Medicaid health care management services, and health information technology products and services. The Corporate and Other segment is involved in providing management and administrative services. The company was founded by Stanley P. Goldstein and Ralph Hoagland in 1963 and is headquartered in Woonsocket, RI.

Johnson & Johnson

NYSE:JNJ

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research and development, manufacture and sale of products in the health care field. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Health, Pharmaceutical, and MedTech. The Consumer Health segment includes products focused on personal healthcare used in the Skin Health/Beauty, Over-the-Counter medicines, Baby Care, Oral Care, Women's Health and Wound Care markets. The Pharmaceutical segment focuses on therapeutic areas, such as immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, pulmonary hypertension, and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. The MedTech segment offers products used in the interventional solutions. The company was founded by Robert Wood Johnson I, James Wood Johnson, and Edward Mead Johnson Sr. in 1886 and is headquartered in New Brunswick, NJ.

Eli Lilly and

NYSE:LLY

Eli Lilly & Co. engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of pharmaceutical products. The firm's products consist of diabetes, oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and other products and therapies. The company was founded by Eli Lilly in May 1876 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, IN.

Merck & Co., Inc.

NYSE:MRK

Merck & Co., Inc. is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products. The Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets animal health products, such as pharmaceutical and vaccine products, for the prevention, treatment and control of disease in livestock, and companion animal species. The Other segment consists of sales for the non-reportable segments of healthcare services. The company was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Kenilworth, NJ.

Novartis

NYSE:NVS

Novartis AG is a holding company, which engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Innovative Medicines, Sandoz, and Corporate. The Innovative Medicines segment researches, develops, manufactures, distributes and sells patented pharmaceuticals, and is composed of two business units: Novartis Oncology and Novartis Pharmaceuticals. The Sandoz segment develops, manufactures and markets finished dosage form medicines as well as intermediary products, including active pharmaceutical ingredients. The Corporate segment refers to group management and central services. The company was founded on February 29, 1996 and is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland.

Pfizer

NYSE:PFE

Pfizer Inc. is a research-based global biopharmaceutical company. It engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, marketing, sales and distribution of biopharmaceutical products worldwide. The firm works across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases. The company was founded by Charles Pfizer Sr. and Charles Erhart in 1849 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Teladoc Health

NYSE:TDOC

Teladoc Health, Inc. engages in the provision of telehealthcare services using a technology platform via mobile devices, the Internet, video and phone. It operates through the following segments: Teladoc Health Integrated Care, BetterHelp, and Others. The Teladoc Health Integrated Care segment offers virtual medical services. The BetterHelp segment includes virtual mental health and other wellness services. The company was founded in June 2002, by George Byron Brooks, Michael Gorton, and Gary Wald and is headquartered in Purchase, NY.

UnitedHealth Group

NYSE:UNH

UnitedHealth Group, Inc. engages in the provision of health care coverage, software, and data consultancy services. It operates through the following segments: UnitedHealthcare, OptumHealth, OptumInsight, and OptumRx. The UnitedHealthcare segment utilizes Optum's capabilities to help coordinate patient care, improve affordability of medical care, analyze cost trends, manage pharmacy benefits, work with care providers more effectively, and create a simpler consumer experience. The OptumHealth segment provides health and wellness care, serving the broad health care marketplace including payers, care providers, employers, government, life sciences companies, and consumers. The OptumInsight segment focuses on data and analytics, technology, and information to help major participants in the healthcare industry. The OptumRx segment offers pharmacy care services. The company was founded by Richard T. Burke in January 1977 and is headquartered in Minnetonka, MN.

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How to Invest in the Healthcare Sector

Key Points

The healthcare sector represents both a consistent consumer need and a source of risk for investors.
Stocks, ETFs, mutual funds and REITs all represent the different sectors of the healthcare sphere.
Consider all options, which can provide a wide range of choices to manage risk level and dividend returns.

As the world economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more investors are interested in learning how to invest in the healthcare sector. While there are multiple ways to invest in the U.S. healthcare industry, buying stocks or funds associated with these companies is the easiest method. As many major healthcare providers operate on exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ, getting started as a healthcare investor can be as simple as placing a "buy" order.

There are multiple ways to invest in the healthcare industry, and the best way to invest in healthcare might vary depending on your goals. Read on to learn more about the healthcare industry and how it operates, explore some of the top-rated biotech stocks on MarketBeat and expand your portfolio with medical assets.

Overview of the Healthcare Sector

The healthcare industry in the United States is one of the largest and most complex in the world. The healthcare sector involves a wide web of pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers and regulators working together to ensure that all treatments are safe and effective. The industry is characterized by high costs, rapid technological advancements and ongoing regulatory changes, all of which may concern investors.

Investors play a significant role in the healthcare industry, as they provide funding for the research and development of new treatments and the acquisition of companies and technologies. Venture capitalists, private equity firms and institutional investors are all active in the healthcare space, seeking to invest in companies with innovative technologies and promising growth prospects. Drug patents, in particular, play a major role in investment opportunities within the sector, with many of the best pharmaceutical stocks in 2023 showcasing growth stock benefits.

While the healthcare industry offers an ever-present market and wide range of opportunities, it also comes with unique risks. Healthcare investing can be risky due to the high research and development costs, the lengthy regulatory approval process and the potential for unforeseen complications in clinical trials. For example, a pharmaceutical company might spend millions of dollars researching a new drug only to have it fail FDA trials. This failure can result in drastic drops in share price and investor loss.

how to invest in healthcare sector

Why Invest in the Healthcare Sector?

The primary reason investors are attracted to the healthcare industry is everlasting demand. The need for medical care drives the healthcare sector, which should increase as the population ages and chronic diseases become more prevalent. As such, the sector is relatively insulated from economic downturns and may offer more consistent and stable long-term growth.

Healthcare companies are constantly developing new treatments, drugs and medical technologies, which can lead to significant breakthroughs and create opportunities for investors to profit, such as in the case of telemedicine stocks. Additionally, many healthcare companies receive government funding for research and development, which can offset some risks associated with investing in new and untested products.

Ways to Invest in the Healthcare Sector

The United States healthcare industry is vast and includes multiple sectors investors can support. The following are some of the major components of the healthcare sector you should be familiar with before investing in the healthcare sector.

Pharmaceuticals

Pharmaceutical companies research, develop, manufacture and market drugs and medications. Most pharmaceutical companies invest heavily in the discovery and development of new medicines, as well as the production and distribution of existing drugs.

Developing a new drug typically involves several stages, including basic research, preclinical testing, clinical trials and regulatory approval. Pharmaceutical companies play a key role in the healthcare sector by funding these processes to bring new drugs to market and ensure their success.

Biotech

Biotech, or biotechnology companies, use biological and chemical processes to develop products and technologies that improve human health. These companies use living organisms or their derivatives to create new technologies and therapies that can help solve complex problems and meet the needs of society.

Some examples of products produced by biotech firms include genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and immunotherapies for cancer patients. Like pharmaceutical companies, biotech companies must undergo a strict regulatory process before seeing products approved and on the open market. This regulatory approval system makes it especially important for investors to focus on histories of success and viabilities of upcoming drugs when learning to invest in healthcare stocks.

Medical Equipment

Medical equipment companies design, manufacture and distribute a wide range of medical devices and equipment used by healthcare providers to diagnose, treat and monitor patients. These companies produce everything from simple instruments, such as thermometers and blood pressure monitors, to complex imaging equipment like MRI machines and ultrasound scanners. They also often work with hospitals and healthcare providers to develop new diagnostic and movement assistance devices.

Sales and Distribution

Medical sales and distribution companies act as intermediaries between manufacturers of medical products and healthcare providers, facilitating the supply chain for medical products. Medical sales and distribution companies play a crucial role in the healthcare industry by ensuring that medical products and equipment are readily available to healthcare providers when needed. They work closely with manufacturers to understand product specifications and regulatory requirements and then market and distribute these products to healthcare providers.

Insurance

Health insurance companies cover individuals and groups to help pay for healthcare expenses. These companies collect premiums from policyholders, covering the costs of medical services and treatments. Health insurance companies are important in the United States due to the country's high consumer costs for medical care series.

Healthcare Facilities

In addition to insurance companies and the companies that provide and produce medical services, you can also invest in the physical spaces that healthcare providers use to distribute services. Commercial real estate investment trusts (REITs) specialize in managing and financing real estate operations on behalf of commercial operations (like hospitals). If you're interested in learning how to invest in a hospital rather than its operations, a REIT might be the best choice.

How to Invest in the Healthcare Sector

Investing in the healthcare sector usually involves buying and selling shares of stock issued by healthcare companies. The specific process you'll go through when investing varies depending on the type of asset you're buying, but you can expect the following basic steps.

Step 1: Open a brokerage account.

A brokerage account is an investment account that you'll use to communicate with your broker to buy and sell stocks, funds and other assets. Most items on MarketBeat's best medical stocks list trade on major exchanges, so you can start buying and selling immediately if you already have a brokerage account. However, if you're interested in investing in a healthcare mutual fund, you may need to use an IRA or specialized retirement account.

If you still need a brokerage account, open one before moving forward. Some popular examples of online brokers include Robinhood, E*TRADE and Charles Schwab. You must also link and confirm a bank account to fund your account before placing an order.

Step 2: Place a "buy" order.

Locate the asset you want to buy by searching for its ticker. For example, if you want to know how to invest in healthcare stocks, you place a buy order, specifying how many shares you'd like to purchase and how much you'd like to spend. Place a limit order if you want to buy the asset at a specific price. If the speed of execution is more important to you than the individual price paid per share, you may prefer a market order.

Step 3: Monitor your investment.

The healthcare industry constantly changes as innovations change how we treat common diseases and ailments. Monitor your investment over time and track how its value is changing. If you're employing a short-term trading strategy, you may also want to place a stop-loss order to limit your financial loss in case your investment dips in value.

Types of Healthcare Investments to Consider

Multiple types of assets can provide you with exposure to the healthcare sector. Consider adding a mix of the following investment types to your portfolio for enhanced diversification.

Healthcare Stocks

The healthcare industry makes up a wide web of publicly traded companies in both the development and service sides of the business. Healthcare stocks can offer investors exposure to the growing demand for healthcare services and products and the potential for strong financial performance driven by innovation, regulatory approvals and demographic trends. However, healthcare stocks can also be subject to regulatory risks, clinical trial failures and other industry-specific challenges that can impact their performance.

Examples of healthcare stocks include Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH). Browse a list of the best pharmaceutical stocks on MarketBeat, which you can use to complement both general portfolios and healthcare-based investor profiles.

Mutual Funds

A healthcare mutual fund is a type of investment fund that pools money from investors to invest in various healthcare-related stocks or other securities. A professional fund manager manages the fund and seeks to provide a return for the investors by investing in healthcare companies that they believe have the potential for growth and financial performance. Some examples of healthcare mutual funds include the Vanguard Health Care Fund (VGHCX) and the Fidelity Select Medical Technology and Devices Portfolio (FSMEX).

ETFs

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is an investment fund that allows investors to buy ownership in a pool of themed stocks selected by fund managers. Healthcare ETFs consist of assets within the healthcare industry, including stocks, REITs and additional investments. These funds provide an instant level of diversification within the healthcare industry and trade like normal shares of stock throughout the day. Examples of healthcare ETFs include the iShares Global Healthcare ETF (NYSE: IXJ) and the Vanguard Health Care ETF (NYSE: VHT).

Learn more about the five best healthcare sector ETFs.

REITs

REITs trade on major exchanges using the same processes as stocks and ETFs. Companies structured as REITs must distribute at least 90% of their taxable income back to shareholders in the form of dividends. This clause can make healthcare REITs ideal for income investors, with multiple REITs included in MarketBeat's list of healthcare stocks with dividend increases.

Pros and Cons of Investing in Healthcare

While the healthcare industry provides products and services in consistent demand, regulations and failed trials may increase the risk taken on by investors in this sector.

Pros

There are several benefits to investing in healthcare that you may want to consider, including the following:

Growing demand: The healthcare industry has a growing demand for products and services due to demographic trends, including an aging population of baby boomers and rising levels of chronic illness (like heart disease and obesity-related conditions).
Innovation potential: Healthcare companies invest heavily in research and development, and medical technology or treatment breakthroughs can lead to significant financial gains. The sector has growth stock opportunities, which may appeal to active investors.
Resilience: Healthcare is usually considered a defensive industry that can be more resilient to economic downturns or recessions.

Cons

What are the potential downsides? Take a look:

Clinical trial failures: Healthcare companies often invest significant amounts of money in clinical trials, which can lead to significant financial losses for both companies and investors.
Regulatory risks: Healthcare companies are subject to strict regulatory oversight, and changes in regulations or unexpected regulatory decisions can impact each stock's financial performance.

Future of Healthcare Investing

It might be worth considering learning how to invest in healthcare industry into the future. An aging population should fuel increased demand for healthcare services in 2023 and beyond. In particular, many healthcare companies are researching biometric therapies and personalized treatments customized using the patient's unique genetic makeup. While these companies may present investor opportunities, growing regulatory concern amid rising healthcare pricing may lead to legal and political shifts that can influence the pricing of healthcare assets.

Consider Investing in the Healthcare Sector

Investors considering entering the healthcare market should know that despite the constant demand for healthcare services, these assets may be more volatile than other consumer staples. Many healthcare companies devote large percentages of their budgets to research and development, which leads to sharp losses if trials are unsuccessful. If you decide to invest in the healthcare industry, diversify across multiple portions of the industry using a variety of stocks, an ETF investment or the best health mutual funds on the market.

FAQs

Let’s look at some lingering questions you may have about healthcare investing.

Is the healthcare sector a good investment?

Healthcare is an essential industry that will continue to grow as the global population increases and ages. Additionally, advances in medical technology and increasing demand for healthcare services may drive growth in the sector, making it an appealing choice for investors. However, risks associated with political changes and regulatory approval may lead to losses.

How can I invest in the medical field?

There are various ways to invest in the medical field, including buying shares of stocks directly or through an ETF. If you're investing through a retirement account, you may have the opportunity to pool money with other investors using a mutual fund. A total market index fund or S&P 500 index fund can also provide exposure to some of the largest healthcare companies and investing in healthcare sector.

What is the best healthcare ETF?

The best ETF for your portfolio will vary depending on your unique risk tolerance and exposure preferences. The largest healthcare ETFs include the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE: XLV) and the iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (NYSE: IYH).

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