Sectors & IndustriesHealthcareDrug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic

Best Pharmaceutical Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top pharmaceutical stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +28.50% per year, and are the best pharmaceutical 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 pharma stocks to buy right now are:

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) is the #1 top pharmaceutical stock out of 76 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) is: Value: A, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: B.

Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ:NBIX) has a Due Diligence Score of 64, which is 37 points higher than the pharmaceutical industry average of 27.

NBIX passed 22 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Neurocrine Biosciences has seen its stock return 38.45% over the past year, overperforming other pharmaceutical stocks by 74 percentage points.

Neurocrine Biosciences has an average 1 year price target of $188.17, an upside of 5.57% from Neurocrine Biosciences's current stock price of $178.24.

Neurocrine Biosciences stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 18 analysts covering Neurocrine Biosciences, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 38.89% have issued a Buy, 11.11% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Viatris (NASDAQ:VTRS) is the #2 top pharmaceutical stock out of 76 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Viatris (NASDAQ:VTRS) is: Value: B, Growth: A, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Viatris (NASDAQ:VTRS) has a Due Diligence Score of 28, which is 1 points higher than the pharmaceutical industry average of 27.

VTRS passed 9 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Viatris has seen its stock return 79.91% over the past year, overperforming other pharmaceutical stocks by 115 percentage points.

Viatris has an average 1 year price target of $18.00, an upside of 8.04% from Viatris's current stock price of $16.66.

Viatris stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Viatris, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) is the #3 top pharmaceutical stock out of 76 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +28.5% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) is: Value: A, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) has a Due Diligence Score of 54, which is 27 points higher than the pharmaceutical industry average of 27.

IRWD passed 17 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has seen its stock return 531.79% over the past year, overperforming other pharmaceutical stocks by 567 percentage points.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has an average 1 year price target of $10.00, an upside of 109.64% from Ironwood Pharmaceuticals's current stock price of $4.77.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst covering Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 100% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 7 pharmaceutical stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 pharmaceutical stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Siga Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA) has an annual dividend yield of 16.95%, which is 12 percentage points higher than the pharmaceutical industry average of 5.38%.

Siga Technologies's dividend payout ratio of 206.9% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Perrigo Co (NYSE:PRGO) has an annual dividend yield of 8.27%, which is 3 percentage points higher than the pharmaceutical industry average of 5.38%. Perrigo Co's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Perrigo Co's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Perrigo Co's dividend payout ratio of -8.8% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Kamada (NASDAQ:KMDA) has an annual dividend yield of 3.43%, which is -2 percentage points lower than the pharmaceutical industry average of 5.38%.

Kamada's dividend payout ratio of 71.3% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Pharmaceutical stocks were down -0.96% in the last day, and up 1.14% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why pharmaceutical stocks are down.

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 pharmaceutical stocks right now are:

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) is the most undervalued pharmaceutical stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a valuation score of 86, which is 70 points higher than the pharmaceutical industry average of 16. It passed 6 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals's stock has gained 531.79% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the pharmaceutical industry by 567 percentage points.

Collegium Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:COLL) is the second most undervalued pharmaceutical stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Collegium Pharmaceutical has a valuation score of 43, which is 27 points higher than the pharmaceutical industry average of 16. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Collegium Pharmaceutical's stock has gained 13.49% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the pharmaceutical industry by 49 percentage points.

Zoetis (NYSE:ZTS) is the third most undervalued pharmaceutical stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Zoetis has a valuation score of 14, which is -2 points higher than the pharmaceutical industry average of 16. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates ZTS a Valuation Rating of "A".

Zoetis's stock has dropped -52.41% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the pharmaceutical industry by -17 percentage points.

50% of pharmaceutical stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect pharmaceutical stocks to rise by 34.14% over the next year.

17.65% of pharmaceutical stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 19.61% of pharmaceutical stocks are rated B (Buy), 37.25% are rated C (Hold), 21.57% are rated D (Sell), and 3.92% are rated F (Strong Sell).