Sectors & IndustriesHealthcareDrug Manufacturers - General

Best General Drug Manufacturer Stocks to Buy Now (2024)

Top general drug manufacturer stocks in 2024 ranked by overall Due Diligence Score. See the best general drug manufacturer stocks to buy now, according to analyst forecasts for the drug manufacturers - general industry.

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

Merck & Co (NYSE:MRK) is the top general drug manufacturer stock with a Due Diligence Score of 65, which is 25 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 40. It passed 24 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Merck & Co has seen its stock lose -2.52% over the past year, underperforming other general drug manufacturer stocks by -14 percentage points.

Merck & Co has an average 1 year price target of $133.50, an upside of 28.92% from Merck & Co's current stock price of $103.55.

Merck & Co stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 10 analysts covering Merck & Co, 70% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 10% have issued a Buy, 20% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Eli Lilly & Co (NYSE:LLY) is the second best general drug manufacturer stock with a Due Diligence Score of 57, which is 17 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 40. It passed 23 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Eli Lilly & Co has seen its stock return 40.38% over the past year, overperforming other general drug manufacturer stocks by 29 percentage points.

Eli Lilly & Co has an average 1 year price target of $1,047.14, an upside of 26.83% from Eli Lilly & Co's current stock price of $825.62.

Eli Lilly & Co stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 14 analysts covering Eli Lilly & Co, 85.71% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 14.29% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) is the third best general drug manufacturer stock with a Due Diligence Score of 53, which is 13 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 40. It passed 16 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Biogen has seen its stock lose -30.63% over the past year, underperforming other general drug manufacturer stocks by -42 percentage points.

Biogen has an average 1 year price target of $245.95, an upside of 54.43% from Biogen's current stock price of $159.26.

Biogen stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 19 analysts covering Biogen, 21.05% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 36.84% have issued a Buy, 42.11% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 13 general drug manufacturer stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 general drug manufacturer stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) has an annual dividend yield of 6.54%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 3.38%. Pfizer's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Pfizer's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Pfizer's dividend payout ratio of 219.7% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Gsk (NYSE:GSK) has an annual dividend yield of 4.51%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 3.38%. Gsk's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% ten 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 94.1% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) has an annual dividend yield of 4.2%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 3.38%. Sanofi's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Sanofi's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Sanofi's dividend payout ratio of 111.2% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

General drug manufacturer stocks were down -0.19% in the last day, and up 0.31% over the last week.

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

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

Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) is the most undervalued general drug manufacturer stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Biogen has a valuation score of 86, which is 49 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 37. It passed 6 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Biogen's stock has dropped -30.63% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the general drug manufacturer industry by -42 percentage points.

Astrazeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) is the second most undervalued general drug manufacturer stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Astrazeneca has a valuation score of 71, which is 34 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 37. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Astrazeneca's stock has gained 5.5% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the general drug manufacturer industry by -6 percentage points.

Grifols Sa (NASDAQ:GRFS) is the third most undervalued general drug manufacturer stock based on WallStreetZen's Valuation Score. Grifols Sa has a valuation score of 57, which is 20 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 37. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Grifols Sa's stock has dropped -27.46% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the general drug manufacturer industry by -39 percentage points.