Sectors & IndustriesHealthcare

Best Healthcare Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top healthcare stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Due Diligence Score. See the best healthcare stocks to buy now, according to analyst forecasts for the healthcare sector.

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 stocks to buy right now are:

Bristol Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) is the #1 top healthcare stock out of 1067 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 Bristol Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) is: Value: A, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: B.

Bristol Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) has a Due Diligence Score of 48, which is 22 points higher than the healthcare sector average of 26. It passed 17 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Bristol Myers Squibb Co has seen its stock return 41.17% over the past year, overperforming other healthcare stocks by 136 percentage points.

Bristol Myers Squibb Co has an average 1 year price target of $68.67, an upside of 5.9% from Bristol Myers Squibb Co's current stock price of $64.84.

Bristol Myers Squibb Co stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 13 analysts covering Bristol Myers Squibb Co, 61.54% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 38.46% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Electromed (NYSEMKT:ELMD) is the #2 top healthcare stock out of 1067 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 Electromed (NYSEMKT:ELMD) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: B, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Electromed (NYSEMKT:ELMD) has a Due Diligence Score of 49, which is 23 points higher than the healthcare sector average of 26. It passed 17 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Electromed has seen its stock return 122.35% over the past year, overperforming other healthcare stocks by 218 percentage points.

Electromed has an average 1 year price target of $38.00, a downside of -10.76% from Electromed's current stock price of $42.58.

Electromed stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 2 analysts covering Electromed, 100% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 0% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Puma Biotechnology (NASDAQ:PBYI) is the #3 top healthcare stock out of 1067 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 Puma Biotechnology (NASDAQ:PBYI) is: Value: A, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: A, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Puma Biotechnology (NASDAQ:PBYI) has a Due Diligence Score of 48, which is 22 points higher than the healthcare sector average of 26. It passed 15 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Puma Biotechnology has seen its stock return 79.18% over the past year, overperforming other healthcare stocks by 174 percentage points.

Puma Biotechnology has an average 1 year price target of $6.00, a downside of -30.96% from Puma Biotechnology's current stock price of $8.69.

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

Out of 79 healthcare stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 healthcare stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPIX) has an annual dividend yield of 38.51%, which is 35 percentage points higher than the healthcare sector average of 3.06%.

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals's dividend payout ratio of -411% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Dominari Holdings (NASDAQ:DOMH) has an annual dividend yield of 34.57%, which is 32 percentage points higher than the healthcare sector average of 3.06%.

Dominari Holdings's dividend payout ratio of -19.1% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Siga Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA) has an annual dividend yield of 20.48%, which is 17 percentage points higher than the healthcare sector average of 3.06%.

Siga Technologies's dividend payout ratio of -1,500% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Healthcare stocks were up 0.86% in the last day, and up 4.4% over the last week. Varex Imaging was the among the top gainers in the healthcare sector, gaining 48.75% yesterday.

Varex Imaging shares are trading higher after the company reported Q3 financial results. The company announced it will be acquired by Teledyne.

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 stocks right now are:

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD) is the most undervalued healthcare 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 72 points higher than the healthcare sector average of 14. It passed 6 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals's stock has gained 384.45% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the healthcare sector by 480 percentage points.

Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) is the second most undervalued healthcare stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Exelixis has a valuation score of 14, which is 0 points higher than the healthcare sector average of 14. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Exelixis's stock has gained 41.57% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the healthcare sector by 137 percentage points.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AMPH) is the third most undervalued healthcare stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals has a valuation score of 71, which is 57 points higher than the healthcare sector average of 14. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals's stock has dropped -25.77% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the healthcare sector by 70 percentage points.

61.58% of healthcare stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect healthcare stocks to rise by 25.53% over the next year.

4.81% of healthcare stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 12.47% of healthcare stocks are rated B (Buy), 46.91% are rated C (Hold), 28.4% are rated D (Sell), and 7.41% are rated F (Strong Sell).