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 +32.52% 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:

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) is the #1 top pharmaceutical stock out of 77 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 Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) is: Value: A, Growth: B, Momentum: A, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: B.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) has a Due Diligence Score of 40, which is 11 points higher than the pharmaceutical industry average of 29.

IRWD passed 13 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has seen its stock return 44.89% over the past year, overperforming other pharmaceutical stocks by 48 percentage points.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has an average 1 year price target of $6.50, an upside of 20.59% from Ironwood Pharmaceuticals's current stock price of $5.39.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 50% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Indivior (NASDAQ:INDV) is the #2 top pharmaceutical stock out of 77 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 Indivior (NASDAQ:INDV) is: Value: B, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Indivior (NASDAQ:INDV) has a Due Diligence Score of 36, which is 7 points higher than the pharmaceutical industry average of 29.

INDV passed 11 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Indivior has seen its stock return 177.65% over the past year, overperforming other pharmaceutical stocks by 181 percentage points.

Indivior has an average 1 year price target of $41.00, an upside of 22.24% from Indivior's current stock price of $33.54.

Indivior stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Indivior, 33.33% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 66.67% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Phibro Animal Health (NASDAQ:PAHC) is the #3 top pharmaceutical stock out of 77 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 Phibro Animal Health (NASDAQ:PAHC) is: Value: A, Growth: A, Momentum: B, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Phibro Animal Health (NASDAQ:PAHC) has a Due Diligence Score of 54, which is 25 points higher than the pharmaceutical industry average of 29.

PAHC passed 20 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Phibro Animal Health has seen its stock return 91.22% over the past year, overperforming other pharmaceutical stocks by 95 percentage points.

Phibro Animal Health has an average 1 year price target of $38.50, a downside of -7.47% from Phibro Animal Health's current stock price of $41.61.

Phibro Animal Health stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Phibro Animal Health, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a hold, while 50% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

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

Viatris (NASDAQ:VTRS) has an annual dividend yield of 3.63%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the pharmaceutical industry average of 2.01%. Viatris's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Viatris's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Viatris's dividend payout ratio of -15.5% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Kamada (NASDAQ:KMDA) has an annual dividend yield of 2.51%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the pharmaceutical industry average of 2.01%.

Kamada's dividend payout ratio of 57.1% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Haleon (NYSE:HLN) has an annual dividend yield of 1.7%, which is the same as the pharmaceutical industry average of 2.01%.

Haleon's dividend payout ratio of 12.2% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Pharmaceutical stocks were up 1.15% in the last day, and up 0.97% over the last week. Elanco Animal Health was the among the top gainers in the drug manufacturers - specialty & generic industry, gaining 2.51% yesterday.

Elanco Animal Health shares are trading higher after Piper Sandler ugpraded the stock from Neutral to Overweight and raised its price target from $24 to $30.

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:

Bausch Health Companies (NYSE:BHC) 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.

Bausch Health Companies has a valuation score of 57, which is 31 points higher than the pharmaceutical industry average of 26. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Bausch Health Companies's stock has dropped -14.9% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the pharmaceutical industry by -12 percentage points.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) 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.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals has a valuation score of 57, which is 31 points higher than the pharmaceutical industry average of 26. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals's stock has gained 44.89% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the pharmaceutical industry by 48 percentage points.

Pacira Biosciences (NASDAQ:PCRX) 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.

Pacira Biosciences has a valuation score of 71, which is 45 points higher than the pharmaceutical industry average of 26. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Pacira Biosciences's stock has dropped -7.48% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the pharmaceutical industry by -4 percentage points.

50% of pharmaceutical stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect pharmaceutical stocks to rise by 42.87% over the next year.

25.45% of pharmaceutical stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 10.91% of pharmaceutical stocks are rated B (Buy), 50.91% are rated C (Hold), 7.27% are rated D (Sell), and 5.45% are rated F (Strong Sell).