Investing in healthcare stocks is considered one of the best defensive plays in an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop. The sector’s products are perennially in demand, as people always need medical attention and procedures, irrespective of the larger macro environment. As a result, companies from this sector tend to provide steady returns.
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Using TipRanks’ Stock Screener tool, we identified five healthcare stocks with the potential to outperform the market. Using this tool, we shortlisted stocks that have a Strong Buy rating from Wall Street analysts. Moreover, the analysts’ price targets reflect decent upside potential from current price levels. Additionally, each of these stocks has a market outperform Smart Score of 9 or a ‘Perfect 10!’
Here are the five key stocks from the healthcare sector for investors to consider.
- Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) – Biogen is a biopharma company that discovers, develops, and delivers therapies for the treatment of neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. BIIB stock’s average price target implies upside potential of 25.3%.
- AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) – AZN stock’s price forecast of $78.88 implies 13% upside potential.
AstraZeneca develops and markets medications for a variety of medical fields, including cancer, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, oncology, respiratory, and inflammation, as well as other infectious diseases. - CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) – CVS Health has several brands under its healthcare umbrella — the retail pharmacy chain CVS Pharmacy, pharmacy benefits manager CVS Caremark, and health insurance provider Aetna, among others. CVS stock’s average price target implies upside potential of nearly 27.2%.
- Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG) – ISRG stock has an average price target of $377.14, which implies 20.6% upside potential from current levels. ISRG manufactures and develops robotic-assisted products, most notably the da Vinci surgical system and related instruments and accessories, to improve clinical outcomes of patients through minimally-invasive surgery.
- Jazz Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:JAZZ) – Jazz is a specialty biopharma company with a focus on developing products for narcolepsy, oncology, pain, and psychiatry. JAZZ stock’s average price target of $197.88 implies an impressive 52.3% upside potential.
