Sectors & IndustriesHealthcareDiagnostics & Research

Best Diagnostic & Research Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top diagnostic & research stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best diagnostic & research stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best diagnostic & research stocks to buy right now are:

Caredx (NASDAQ:CDNA) is the #1 top diagnostic & research stock out of 55 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Caredx (NASDAQ:CDNA) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Caredx (NASDAQ:CDNA) has a Due Diligence Score of 34, which is 6 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 28.

CDNA passed 11 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Caredx has seen its stock return 23.28% over the past year, overperforming other diagnostic & research stocks by 10 percentage points.

Caredx has an average 1 year price target of $24.50, an upside of 17.73% from Caredx's current stock price of $20.81.

Caredx stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Caredx, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) is the #2 top diagnostic & research stock out of 55 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) has a Due Diligence Score of 36, which is 8 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 28.

ILMN passed 12 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Illumina has seen its stock return 63.32% over the past year, overperforming other diagnostic & research stocks by 50 percentage points.

Illumina has an average 1 year price target of $145.00, an upside of 14.41% from Illumina's current stock price of $126.74.

Illumina stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 7 analysts covering Illumina, 42.86% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 42.86% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 14.29% have issued a Strong Sell.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) is the #3 top diagnostic & research stock out of 55 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: A, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) has a Due Diligence Score of 34, which is 6 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 28.

TMO passed 12 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Thermo Fisher Scientific has seen its stock return 11.65% over the past year, underperforming other diagnostic & research stocks by -2 percentage points.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has an average 1 year price target of $659.73, an upside of 37.74% from Thermo Fisher Scientific's current stock price of $478.96.

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 11 analysts covering Thermo Fisher Scientific, 81.82% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 18.18% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 6 diagnostic & research stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 diagnostic & research stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) has an annual dividend yield of 1.68%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 0.85%. Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Quest Diagnostics's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Quest Diagnostics's dividend payout ratio of 35.6% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Labcorp Holdings (NYSE:LH) has an annual dividend yield of 1.12%, which is the same as the diagnostic & research industry average of 0.85%. Labcorp Holdings's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Labcorp Holdings's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Labcorp Holdings's dividend payout ratio of 27.3% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) has an annual dividend yield of 0.87%, which is the same as the diagnostic & research industry average of 0.85%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Agilent Technologies's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio of 22% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Diagnostic & research stocks were up 2.65% in the last day, and up 0.77% over the last week. Illumina was the among the top gainers in the diagnostics & research industry, gaining 5.29% yesterday.

Illumina shares are trading higher after the company reported better-than-expected Q1 financial results and raised its FY26 adjusted EPS guidance above estimates. Also, multiple analysts raised their respective price targets on the stock.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued diagnostic & research stocks right now are:

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) is the most undervalued diagnostic & research stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Icon has a valuation score of 86, which is 73 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 13. It passed 6 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Icon's stock has dropped -21.86% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the diagnostic & research industry by -35 percentage points.

Qiagen Nv (NYSE:QGEN) is the second most undervalued diagnostic & research stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Qiagen Nv has a valuation score of 43, which is 30 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 13. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Qiagen Nv's stock has dropped -19.11% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the diagnostic & research industry by -33 percentage points.

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO) is the third most undervalued diagnostic & research stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Thermo Fisher Scientific has a valuation score of 14, which is 1 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 13. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Thermo Fisher Scientific's stock has gained 11.65% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the diagnostic & research industry by -2 percentage points.

51.16% of diagnostic & research stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect diagnostic & research stocks to rise by 28.07% over the next year.

4.44% of diagnostic & research stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 22.22% of diagnostic & research stocks are rated B (Buy), 53.33% are rated C (Hold), 20% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).