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...

Overview Zen Rating Price Value Growth Financials Momentum Sentiment Forecast Dividends

General Drug Manufacturers is Zen Rated A and is the 7th ranked industry out of 145 stock market industries

Ticker	Company	Market Cap	Dividend Yield	Payout Ratio	Last Dividend	Annual Dividend	Dividend Percentile	Dividend Dropped Count (L10Y)	Ex-dividend Date	Div. Payment Date
NVS	NOVARTIS AG	$222.28B	3.41%	60.10%	$3.8695	$3.87	67%	2
AZN	ASTRAZENECA PLC	$222.30B	2.16%	61.90%	$1.0500	$1.55	47%	9
JNJ	JOHNSON & JOHNSON	$375.13B	3.18%	54.70%	$1.2400	$4.96	63%	0	2025-05-27	2025-06-10
GILD	GILEAD SCIENCES INC	$129.78B	2.97%	810.50%	$0.7900	$3.10	60%	0
BMY	BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB CO	$100.17B	3.70%	91.00%	$0.6200	$1.82	70%	0
PFE	PFIZER INC	$134.83B	5.30%	119.00%	$0.4200	$1.26	83%	0
GSK	GSK PLC	$79.51B	3.98%	71.90%	$0.4000	$1.55	73%	9
ABBV	ABBVIE INC	$341.61B	2.45%	262.10%	$1.6400	$4.74	53%	0		2025-05-15
LLY	ELI LILLY & CO	$839.32B	0.44%	45.90%	$1.3000	$3.90	7%	0
SNY	SANOFI	$135.71B	3.79%	88.10%	$2.0374	$2.04	71%	1	2025-05-09	2025-06-12
BIIB	BIOGEN INC	$17.59B	N/A	0.00%	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
AMGN	AMGEN INC	$155.02B	3.16%	88.60%	$2.3800	$9.13	63%	0	2025-05-16	2025-06-06
GRFS	GRIFOLS SA	$4.87B	N/A	0.00%	$0.4562	N/A	N/A	4
MRK	MERCK & CO INC	$213.98B	3.73%	46.20%	$0.8100	$3.16	71%	0
OGN	ORGANON & CO	$3.39B	4.26%	25.00%	$0.2800	$0.56	76%	0
SCLX	SCILEX HOLDING CO	$32.05M	N/A	0.00%	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
AMRN	AMARIN CORP PLC	$213.93M	N/A	0.00%	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
MIRA	MIRA PHARMACEUTICALS INC	$18.83M	N/A	0.00%	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

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 39, which is -1 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 14 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Novartis Ag has seen its stock return 16.84% over the past year, overperforming other general drug manufacturer stocks by 13 percentage points.

Novartis Ag has an average 1 year price target of $120.00, an upside of 5.77% from Novartis Ag's current stock price of $113.45.

Novartis Ag stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Novartis Ag, 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.

2. Astrazeneca (NASDAQ:AZN)

Astrazeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) 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 Astrazeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Astrazeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) has a Due Diligence Score of 59, which is 19 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 40.

AZN passed 22 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Astrazeneca has seen its stock lose -5.39% over the past year, underperforming other general drug manufacturer stocks by -9 percentage points.

3. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) 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 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 8.11% over the past year, overperforming other general drug manufacturer stocks by 5 percentage points.

Johnson & Johnson has an average 1 year price target of $168.08, an upside of 7.81% from Johnson & Johnson's current stock price of $155.91.

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.

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 4.26%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 3.24%.

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 3.98%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 3.24%. 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 71.9% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

3. Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY)

Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) has an annual dividend yield of 3.79%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 3.24%. 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 88.1% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Why are general drug manufacturer stocks up?

General drug manufacturer stocks were up 0.99% in the last day, and up 4.95% over the last week. Pfizer was the among the top gainers in the drug manufacturers - general industry, gaining 2.61% yesterday.

Pfizer shares are trading higher following a Q1 EPS beat. The company reaffirmed guidance but said it is trending towards the upper end of its 2025 Adjusted diluted EPS guidance range.

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 56 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 44. It passed 7 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Biogen's stock has dropped -43.64% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the general drug manufacturer industry by -47 percentage points.

2. Organon & Co (NYSE:OGN)

Organon & Co (NYSE:OGN) 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.

Organon & Co has a valuation score of 57, which is 13 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 44. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Organon & Co's stock has dropped -30.52% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the general drug manufacturer industry by -34 percentage points.

3. Merck & Co (NYSE:MRK)

Merck & Co (NYSE:MRK) 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.

Merck & Co has a valuation score of 57, which is 13 points higher than the general drug manufacturer industry average of 44. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Merck & Co's stock has dropped -34.07% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the general drug manufacturer industry by -38 percentage points.

Are general drug manufacturer stocks a good buy now?

42.86% of general drug manufacturer stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect general drug manufacturer stocks to rise by 45.68% over the next year.

27.78% of general drug manufacturer stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 22.22% of general drug manufacturer stocks are rated B (Buy), 38.89% 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 54.95x.

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.