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 50 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: B, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: D.

Caredx (NASDAQ:CDNA) has a Due Diligence Score of 53, which is 24 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 29.

CDNA passed 18 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Caredx has seen its stock return 353.57% over the past year, overperforming other diagnostic & research stocks by 324 percentage points.

Caredx has an average 1 year price target of $61.67, a downside of -7.51% from Caredx's current stock price of $66.68.

Caredx stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Caredx, 66.67% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 33.33% 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 #2 top diagnostic & research stock out of 50 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 Sotera Health Co (NASDAQ:SHC) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Sotera Health Co (NASDAQ:SHC) has a Due Diligence Score of 40, which is 11 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 29.

SHC passed 14 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Sotera Health Co has seen its stock return 11.2% over the past year, underperforming other diagnostic & research stocks by -18 percentage points.

Sotera Health Co has an average 1 year price target of $21.80, an upside of 20.64% from Sotera Health Co's current stock price of $18.07.

Sotera Health Co stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 5 analysts covering Sotera Health Co, 80% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 20% have issued a Strong Sell.

Neogen (NASDAQ:NEOG) is the #3 top diagnostic & research stock out of 50 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: A, Momentum: A, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Neogen (NASDAQ:NEOG) has a Due Diligence Score of 13, which is -16 points lower than the diagnostic & research industry average of 29. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates NEOG as a "B".

NEOG passed 4 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Neogen has seen its stock return 106.22% over the past year, overperforming other diagnostic & research stocks by 77 percentage points.

Neogen has an average 1 year price target of $14.00, an upside of 14.1% from Neogen's current stock price of $12.27.

Neogen stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Neogen, 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 4.96%, which is 4 percentage points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 1.28%.

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 1.41%, which is the same as the diagnostic & research industry average of 1.28%. 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 0.89%, which is the same as the diagnostic & research industry average of 1.28%. 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 2.06% in the last day, and up 4.57% over the last week. Opko Health was the among the top gainers in the diagnostics & research industry, gaining 17.52% yesterday.

OPKO Health shares are trading higher after Labcorp agreed to acquire select assets of OPKO's subsidiary BioReference Health for $722 million in cash plus a potential $150 million earnout.

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 29, which is 17 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 12. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Qiagen Nv's stock has dropped -2.82% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the diagnostic & research industry by -32 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 31 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 12. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Icon's stock has dropped -6.77% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the diagnostic & research industry by -36 percentage points.

Sotera Health Co (NASDAQ:SHC) 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.

Sotera Health Co has a valuation score of 14, which is 2 points higher than the diagnostic & research industry average of 12. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Sotera Health Co's stock has gained 11.2% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the diagnostic & research industry by -18 percentage points.

50% of diagnostic & research stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect diagnostic & research stocks to fall by -0.03% over the next year.

5.13% of diagnostic & research stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 28.21% of diagnostic & research stocks are rated B (Buy), 53.85% are rated C (Hold), 12.82% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).