Sectors & Industries HealthcareDrug Manufacturers - General
Best General Drug Manufacturer Stocks to Buy Now (2025)
Top general drug manufacturer stocks in 2025 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best general drug manufacturer stocks to buy now. Learn More.

Industry: Drug Manufacturers - Gene...

Growth Financials Momentum Sentiment Forecast Dividends Due Diligence

General Drug Manufacturers is Zen Rated A and is the 5th ranked industry out of 145 stock market industries

Ticker	Company	Price	Graham Fair Value	Graham Fair Value %	P/E	Forward P/E	P/S	P/B	PEG	Free Cash Flow	Free Cash Flow Yield	Book Value	BVPS	EV	EV/EBITDA
NVS	NOVARTIS AG	$111.33	$65.66	69.55%	17.29x	12.97x	4.12x	5.69x	1.35x	$17.70B	8.08%	$38.37B	19.50	$242.33B	9.17
JNJ	JOHNSON & JOHNSON	$154.46	$79.63	93.98%	17.05x	14.57x	4.16x	4.76x	1.91x	$20.37B	5.48%	$78.11B	32.45	$385.42B	11.11
GILD	GILEAD SCIENCES INC	$103.25	$27.68	273.07%	271.71x	13.05x	4.48x	6.65x	1.44x	$10.31B	8.00%	$19.33B	15.50	$145.30B	32.76
BMY	BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB CO	$49.61	$43.32	14.53%	18.51x	7.20x	2.12x	5.81x	0.63x	$13.09B	12.96%	$17.39B	8.55	$139.80B	9.87
AZN	ASTRAZENECA PLC	$70.51	$40.89	72.46%	28.15x	15.63x	3.19x	5.33x	0.94x	$11.16B	5.10%	$41.04B	13.24	$245.00B	13.86
GSK	GSK PLC	$38.75	$36.41	6.43%	19.05x	8.57x	1.91x	4.25x	0.55x	$7.17B	9.05%	$18.63B	9.11	$97.58B	15.85
LLY	ELI LILLY & CO	$794.10	$278.48	185.15%	64.35x	35.40x	14.56x	47.74x	1.36x	$3.74B	0.52%	$15.76B	17.54	$788.02B	51.07
ABBV	ABBVIE INC	$193.34	$87.97	119.78%	80.56x	15.74x	6.07x	102.65x	0.93x	$17.83B	5.21%	$3.33B	1.88	$402.93B	28.27
BIIB	BIOGEN INC	$120.93	$122.87	-1.58%	11.90x	7.82x	1.80x	1.04x	0.66x	$2.38B	13.49%	$16.98B	116.21	$21.74B	8.62
GRFS	GRIFOLS SA	$7.02	$21.82	-67.83%	27.42x	7.31x	0.60x	0.74x	0.12x	$357.52M	7.41%	$6.54B	9.51	$15.03B	8.78
SNY	SANOFI	$54.10	$39.04	38.57%	23.39x	12.24x	2.94x	1.69x	0.74x	$7.65B	5.65%	$80.74B	32.26	$147.57B	12.40
AMGN	AMGEN INC	$283.78	$158.78	78.73%	37.24x	13.80x	4.56x	25.94x	0.87x	$10.39B	6.82%	$5.88B	10.94	$200.57B	15.02
PFE	PFIZER INC	$23.93	$22.52	6.26%	16.85x	7.92x	2.13x	1.54x	0.59x	$9.84B	7.25%	$88.20B	15.57	$198.93B	13.25
MRK	MERCK & CO INC	$83.26	$78.77	5.70%	12.32x	9.32x	3.29x	4.54x	0.73x	$18.10B	8.58%	$46.31B	18.29	$234.19B	9.12
OGN	ORGANON & CO	$9.45	$23.67	-60.08%	2.81x	2.66x	0.38x	5.16x	0.70x	$768.00M	31.62%	$472.00M	1.84	$10.64B	6.64
SCLX	SCILEX HOLDING CO	$5.10	N/A	N/A	-0.26x	-0.36x	0.34x	-0.18x	N/A	$19.35M	101.25%	-$192.64M	-51.42	$76.94M	-1.16
AMRN	AMARIN CORP PLC	$10.98	N/A	N/A	-2.75x	-2.19x	0.99x	0.47x	N/A	-$31.02M	-13.75%	$486.18M	23.66	$113.77M	-1.53
MIRA	MIRA PHARMACEUTICALS INC	$1.14	N/A	N/A	-2.24x	-2.11x	N/A	8.71x	N/A	-$5.56M	-31.58%	$2.20M	0.14	$16.33M	-2.04

General Drug Manufacturer Stocks FAQ

What are the best general drug manufacturer stocks to buy right now in May 2025?

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 general drug manufacturer stocks to buy right now are:

1. Novartis Ag (NYSE:NVS)

Novartis Ag (NYSE:NVS) is the #1 top general drug manufacturer stock out of 18 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 Novartis Ag (NYSE:NVS) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Novartis Ag (NYSE:NVS) has a Due Diligence Score of 37, which is -3 points lower than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 40. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates NVS as a "A".

NVS passed 13 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Novartis Ag has seen its stock return 14.18% over the past year, overperforming other general drug manufacturer stocks by 18 percentage points.

2. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is the #2 top general drug manufacturer stock out of 18 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 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: A, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has a Due Diligence Score of 53, which is 13 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 40.

JNJ passed 19 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Johnson & Johnson has seen its stock return 2.17% over the past year, overperforming other general drug manufacturer stocks by 6 percentage points.

Johnson & Johnson has an average 1 year price target of $168.08, an upside of 8.82% from Johnson & Johnson's current stock price of $154.46.

Johnson & Johnson stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 12 analysts covering Johnson & Johnson, 16.67% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 33.33% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

3. Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD)

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) is the #3 top general drug manufacturer stock out of 18 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 Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD) has a Due Diligence Score of 37, which is -3 points lower than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 40. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates GILD as a "A".

GILD passed 13 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Gilead Sciences has seen its stock return 57.61% over the past year, overperforming other general drug manufacturer stocks by 61 percentage points.

Gilead Sciences has an average 1 year price target of $112.11, an upside of 8.58% from Gilead Sciences's current stock price of $103.25.

Gilead Sciences stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 19 analysts covering Gilead Sciences, 42.11% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 26.32% have issued a Buy, 31.58% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

What are the general drug manufacturer stocks with highest dividends?

Out of 11 general drug manufacturer stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 general drug manufacturer stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

1. Organon & Co (NYSE:OGN)

Organon & Co (NYSE:OGN) has an annual dividend yield of 5.93%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 3.42%.

Organon & Co's dividend payout ratio of 25% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

2. Gsk (NYSE:GSK)

Gsk (NYSE:GSK) has an annual dividend yield of 4%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 3.42%. Gsk's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% nine 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 76.2% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

3. Merck & Co (NYSE:MRK)

Merck & Co (NYSE:MRK) has an annual dividend yield of 3.8%, which is the same as the general drug manufacturer industry average of 3.42%. Merck & Co's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Merck & Co's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Merck & Co's dividend payout ratio of 46.2% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Why are general drug manufacturer stocks down?

General drug manufacturer stocks were down -5.8% in the last day, and down -2.06% over the last week. Organon & Co was the among the top losers in the drug manufacturers - general industry, dropping -26.91% yesterday.

Organon shares are trading lower after the company reported Q1 financial results and cut its quarterly dividend.

What are the most undervalued general drug manufacturer stocks?

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 general drug manufacturer stocks right now are:

1. Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) is the most undervalued general drug manufacturer stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Biogen has a valuation score of 100, which is 55 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 45. It passed 7 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Biogen's stock has dropped -44.05% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the general drug manufacturer industry by -41 percentage points.

2. Merck & Co (NYSE:MRK)

Merck & Co (NYSE:MRK) is the second most undervalued general drug manufacturer stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Merck & Co has a valuation score of 57, which is 12 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 45. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Merck & Co's stock has dropped -35.36% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the general drug manufacturer industry by -32 percentage points.

3. Organon & Co (NYSE:OGN)

Organon & Co (NYSE:OGN) is the third most undervalued general drug manufacturer stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Organon & Co has a valuation score of 71, which is 26 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 45. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Organon & Co's stock has dropped -49.81% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the general drug manufacturer industry by -46 percentage points.

Are general drug manufacturer stocks a good buy now?

46.15% of general drug manufacturer stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect general drug manufacturer stocks to rise by 55.1% over the next year.

22.22% of general drug manufacturer stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 33.33% of general drug manufacturer stocks are rated B (Buy), 33.33% are rated C (Hold), 11.11% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).

What is the average p/e ratio of the drug manufacturers - general industry?

The average P/E ratio of the drug manufacturers - general industry is 50.36x.

WallStreetZen does not provide financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security.

Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes and is not advice. WallStreetZen does not bear any responsibility for any losses or damage that may occur as a result of reliance on this data.