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 +28.50% 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 52 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

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

Caredx (NASDAQ:CDNA) has a Due Diligence Score of 34, which is 7 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 27.

CDNA passed 11 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Caredx has seen its stock return 186.66% over the past year, overperforming other diagnostic & research stocks by 166 percentage points.

Caredx has an average 1 year price target of $33.00, a downside of -12.26% from Caredx's current stock price of $37.61.

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.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) is the #2 top diagnostic & research stock out of 52 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +17.17% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) has a Due Diligence Score of 43, which is 16 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 27.

DGX passed 15 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Quest Diagnostics has seen its stock return 33.68% over the past year, overperforming other diagnostic & research stocks by 13 percentage points.

Quest Diagnostics has an average 1 year price target of $224.00, a downside of -1.71% from Quest Diagnostics's current stock price of $227.90.

Quest Diagnostics stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 9 analysts covering Quest Diagnostics, 33.33% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 11.11% have issued a Buy, 55.56% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Sotera Health Co (NASDAQ:SHC) is the #3 top diagnostic & research stock out of 52 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +17.17% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Sotera Health Co (NASDAQ:SHC) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Sotera Health Co (NASDAQ:SHC) has a Due Diligence Score of 37, which is 10 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 27.

SHC passed 13 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Sotera Health Co has seen its stock return 47.59% over the past year, overperforming other diagnostic & research stocks by 27 percentage points.

Sotera Health Co has an average 1 year price target of $21.00, an upside of 20.07% from Sotera Health Co's current stock price of $17.49.

Sotera Health Co stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Sotera Health Co, 100% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% 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 7 diagnostic & research stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 diagnostic & research stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Qiagen Nv (NYSE:QGEN) has an annual dividend yield of 5.52%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 1.43%.

Qiagen Nv's dividend payout ratio of 142.3% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) has an annual dividend yield of 1.46%, which is the same as the diagnostic & research industry average of 1.43%. 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 34.8% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Labcorp Holdings (NYSE:LH) has an annual dividend yield of 0.99%, which is the same as the diagnostic & research industry average of 1.43%. 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 25.4% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Diagnostic & research stocks were up 4.23% in the last day, and up 1.3% over the last week. Medpace Holdings was the among the top gainers in the diagnostics & research industry, gaining 14.71% yesterday.

Medpace Holdings shares are trading higher after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 financial results and raised is FY26 guidance above estimates.

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:

Qiagen Nv (NYSE:QGEN) 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.

Qiagen Nv has a valuation score of 14, which is 4 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 10. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Qiagen Nv's stock has dropped -17.76% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the diagnostic & research industry by -39 percentage points.

Iqvia Holdings (NYSE:IQV) is the second 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.

Iqvia Holdings has a valuation score of 0, which is -10 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 10. It passed 0 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates IQV a Valuation Rating of "B".

Iqvia Holdings's stock has gained 6.73% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the diagnostic & research industry by -14 percentage points.

Danaher (NYSE:DHR) 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.

Danaher has a valuation score of 14, which is 4 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 10. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Danaher's stock has dropped -2.72% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the diagnostic & research industry by -23 percentage points.

47.5% of diagnostic & research stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect diagnostic & research stocks to rise by 5.05% over the next year.

2.38% of diagnostic & research stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 14.29% of diagnostic & research stocks are rated B (Buy), 66.67% are rated C (Hold), 16.67% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).