Sectors & IndustriesHealthcareHealthcare Plans

Best Healthcare Plan Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top healthcare plan stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best healthcare plan 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 healthcare plan stocks to buy right now are:

Centene (NYSE:CNC) is the #1 top healthcare plan stock out of 10 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Centene (NYSE:CNC) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) has a Due Diligence Score of 17, which is -21 points lower than the healthcare plan industry average of 38. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates CNC as a "B".

CNC passed 5 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Centene has seen its stock lose -10.22% over the past year, overperforming other healthcare plan stocks by 3 percentage points.

Centene has an average 1 year price target of $51.75, a downside of -2.98% from Centene's current stock price of $53.34.

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

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) is the #2 top healthcare plan stock out of 10 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) is: Value: A, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: B.

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) has a Due Diligence Score of 51, which is 13 points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 38.

CI passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Cigna Group has seen its stock lose -15.6% over the past year, underperforming other healthcare plan stocks by -2 percentage points.

Cigna Group has an average 1 year price target of $339.75, an upside of 20.1% from Cigna Group's current stock price of $282.90.

Cigna Group stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 12 analysts covering Cigna Group, 75% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 16.67% have issued a Buy, 8.33% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) is the #3 top healthcare plan stock out of 10 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: C, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ:ALHC) has a Due Diligence Score of 44, which is 6 points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 38.

ALHC passed 15 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Alignment Healthcare has seen its stock return 20.81% over the past year, overperforming other healthcare plan stocks by 34 percentage points.

Alignment Healthcare has an average 1 year price target of $23.71, an upside of 17.05% from Alignment Healthcare's current stock price of $20.26.

Alignment Healthcare stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 7 analysts covering Alignment Healthcare, 57.14% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 42.86% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 5 healthcare plan stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 healthcare plan stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Cvs Health (NYSE:CVS) has an annual dividend yield of 3.24%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 2.12%. Cvs Health's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Cvs Health's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Cvs Health's dividend payout ratio of 190% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Unitedhealth Group (NYSE:UNH) has an annual dividend yield of 2.4%, which is the same as the healthcare plan industry average of 2.12%. Unitedhealth Group's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Unitedhealth Group's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Unitedhealth Group's dividend payout ratio of 65.7% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) has an annual dividend yield of 1.84%, which is the same as the healthcare plan industry average of 2.12%. Elevance Health's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Elevance Health's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Elevance Health's dividend payout ratio of 29% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Healthcare plan stocks were down -1.32% in the last day, and up 6.61% over the last week. Alignment Healthcare was the among the top losers in the healthcare plans industry, dropping -10.12% yesterday.

Alignment Healthcare shares are trading lower after the company reported Q1 financial results and issued Q2 sales guidance with its midpoint below estimates.

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 healthcare plan stocks right now are:

Cigna Group (NYSE:CI) is the most undervalued healthcare plan stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Cigna Group has a valuation score of 57, which is 36 points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 21. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Cigna Group's stock has dropped -15.6% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the healthcare plan industry by -2 percentage points.

Elevance Health (NYSE:ELV) is the second most undervalued healthcare plan stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Elevance Health has a valuation score of 43, which is 22 points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 21. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Elevance Health's stock has dropped -8.73% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the healthcare plan industry by 4 percentage points.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) is the third most undervalued healthcare plan stock based on its Valuation Rating of C. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Centene has a valuation score of 14, which is -7 points higher than the healthcare plan industry average of 21. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Centene's stock has dropped -10.22% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the healthcare plan industry by 3 percentage points.

40% of healthcare plan stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect healthcare plan stocks to rise by 3.01% over the next year.

0% of healthcare plan stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 20% of healthcare plan stocks are rated B (Buy), 80% are rated C (Hold), 0% are rated D (Sell), and 0% are rated F (Strong Sell).