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: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Caredx (NASDAQ:CDNA) has a Due Diligence Score of 44, which is 16 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 28.

CDNA passed 15 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Caredx has seen its stock return 286.83% over the past year, overperforming other diagnostic & research stocks by 258 percentage points.

Caredx has an average 1 year price target of $42.33, a downside of -9.33% from Caredx's current stock price of $46.69.

Caredx stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Caredx, 33.33% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 66.67% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Neogen (NASDAQ:NEOG) 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 Neogen (NASDAQ:NEOG) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Neogen (NASDAQ:NEOG) has a Due Diligence Score of 16, which is -12 points lower than the diagnostic & research industry average of 28. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates NEOG as a "B".

NEOG passed 5 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Neogen has seen its stock return 129.4% over the past year, overperforming other diagnostic & research stocks by 101 percentage points.

Neogen has an average 1 year price target of $13.00, an upside of 13.34% from Neogen's current stock price of $11.47.

Neogen stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Neogen, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 100% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

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

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) has a Due Diligence Score of 43, which is 15 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 28.

DGX passed 15 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Quest Diagnostics has seen its stock return 36.77% over the past year, overperforming other diagnostic & research stocks by 8 percentage points.

Quest Diagnostics has an average 1 year price target of $236.70, a downside of -0.69% from Quest Diagnostics's current stock price of $238.35.

Quest Diagnostics stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 10 analysts covering Quest Diagnostics, 30% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 10% have issued a Buy, 60% 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 5.41%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 1.38%.

Qiagen Nv's dividend payout ratio of 243.6% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) has an annual dividend yield of 1.39%, which is the same as the diagnostic & research industry average of 1.38%. 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 0.9%, which is the same as the diagnostic & research industry average of 1.38%. 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 23.7% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Diagnostic & research stocks were up 2.22% in the last day, and up 3.6% over the last week. Natera was the among the top gainers in the diagnostics & research industry, gaining 21.37% yesterday.

Natera shares are trading higher after the company reported better-than-expected Q2 financial results and raised its FY26 sales guidance above estimates. Also, BTIG raised its price target on the stock from $290 to $320.

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 -12.53% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the diagnostic & research industry by -41 percentage points.

Icon (NASDAQ:ICLR) 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.

Icon has a valuation score of 43, which is 33 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 10. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Icon's stock has gained 4.22% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the diagnostic & research industry by -25 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 4 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 10. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Thermo Fisher Scientific's stock has gained 30.62% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the diagnostic & research industry by 2 percentage points.

48.78% of diagnostic & research stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect diagnostic & research stocks to rise by 3.47% over the next year.

2.44% of diagnostic & research stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 24.39% of diagnostic & research stocks are rated B (Buy), 60.98% are rated C (Hold), 9.76% are rated D (Sell), and 2.44% are rated F (Strong Sell).