Sectors & IndustriesHealthcareDrug Manufacturers - General

Best General Drug Manufacturer Stocks to Buy Now (2023)

Top general drug manufacturer stocks in 2023 ranked by overall Zen Score. See the best general drug manufacturer stocks to buy now, according to analyst forecasts for the drug manufacturers - general industry.

According to Zen Score, the 3 best general drug manufacturer stocks to buy right now are:

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) is the top general drug manufacturer stock with a Zen Score of 64, which is 21 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 43. It passed 24 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Pfizer has seen its stock lose -17.76% over the past year, underperforming other general drug manufacturer stocks by -30 percentage points.

Pfizer has an average 1 year price target of $53.08, an upside of 21.29% from Pfizer's current stock price of $43.76.

Pfizer stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 13 analysts covering Pfizer, 15.38% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 15.38% have issued a Buy, 69.23% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Horizon Therapeutics Public Co (NASDAQ:HZNP) is the second best general drug manufacturer stock with a Zen Score of 58, which is 15 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 43. It passed 19 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Horizon Therapeutics Public Co has seen its stock return 17.57% over the past year, overperforming other general drug manufacturer stocks by 5 percentage points.

Horizon Therapeutics Public Co has an average 1 year price target of $109.50, a downside of -0.68% from Horizon Therapeutics Public Co's current stock price of $110.25.

Horizon Therapeutics Public Co stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 11 analysts covering Horizon Therapeutics Public Co, 27.27% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 9.09% have issued a Buy, 63.64% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Merck & Co (NYSE:MRK) is the third best general drug manufacturer stock with a Zen Score of 55, which is 12 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 43. It passed 21 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Merck & Co has seen its stock return 34.09% over the past year, overperforming other general drug manufacturer stocks by 21 percentage points.

Merck & Co has an average 1 year price target of $113.40, an upside of 9.01% from Merck & Co's current stock price of $104.03.

Merck & Co stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 16 analysts covering Merck & Co, 56.25% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 25% have issued a Buy, 18.75% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 12 general drug manufacturer stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 general drug manufacturer stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Gsk (NYSE:GSK) has an annual dividend yield of 4.75%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 3.19%. Gsk's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% eleven times in the last 10 years. Gsk's dividend has not shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Gsk's dividend payout ratio of 21% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Abbvie (NYSE:ABBV) has an annual dividend yield of 3.94%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 3.19%. Abbvie's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Abbvie's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Abbvie's dividend payout ratio of 74.9% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Novartis Ag (NYSE:NVS) has an annual dividend yield of 3.93%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 3.19%. Novartis Ag's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% three times in the last 10 years. Novartis Ag's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Novartis Ag's dividend payout ratio of 105.2% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

General drug manufacturer stocks were up 0.24% in the last day, and down -0.52% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why general drug manufacturer stocks are up.

Based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score, the 3 most undervalued general drug manufacturer stocks right now are:

Grifols Sa (NASDAQ:GRFS) is the most undervalued general drug manufacturer stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Grifols Sa has a valuation score of 57, which is 24 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 33. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Grifols Sa's stock has dropped -13.66% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the general drug manufacturer industry by -26 percentage points.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) is the second most undervalued general drug manufacturer stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Biogen has a valuation score of 57, which is 24 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 33. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Biogen's stock has gained 30.27% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the general drug manufacturer industry by 18 percentage points.

Organon & Co (NYSE:OGN) is the third most undervalued general drug manufacturer stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Organon & Co has a valuation score of 57, which is 24 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 33. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Organon & Co's stock has dropped -11.75% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the general drug manufacturer industry by -24 percentage points.