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 1062 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 54, which is 28 points higher than the healthcare sector average of 26. It passed 19 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Bristol Myers Squibb Co has seen its stock return 34.11% over the past year, overperforming other healthcare stocks by 129 percentage points.

Bristol Myers Squibb Co has an average 1 year price target of $68.67, an upside of 7.58% from Bristol Myers Squibb Co's current stock price of $63.83.

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 1062 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: B, 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 104.32% over the past year, overperforming other healthcare stocks by 200 percentage points.

Electromed has an average 1 year price target of $40.00, a downside of -2.96% from Electromed's current stock price of $41.22.

Electromed stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 1 analyst 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.

Eton Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ETON) is the #3 top healthcare stock out of 1062 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 Eton Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ETON) is: Value: B, Growth: A, Momentum: A, Sentiment: A, Safety: D, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Eton Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ETON) has a Due Diligence Score of 54, which is 28 points higher than the healthcare sector average of 26. It passed 19 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Eton Pharmaceuticals has seen its stock return 277.09% over the past year, overperforming other healthcare stocks by 372 percentage points.

Eton Pharmaceuticals has an average 1 year price target of $67.50, an upside of 14.68% from Eton Pharmaceuticals's current stock price of $58.86.

Eton Pharmaceuticals stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Eton Pharmaceuticals, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 50% 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 78 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 36 percentage points higher than the healthcare sector average of 2.67%.

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals's dividend payout ratio of -411% 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%, which is 17 percentage points higher than the healthcare sector average of 2.67%.

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

Spok Holdings (NASDAQ:SPOK) has an annual dividend yield of 11.38%, which is 9 percentage points higher than the healthcare sector average of 2.67%. Spok Holdings's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% one times in the last 10 years. Spok Holdings's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Spok Holdings's dividend payout ratio of 207.9% indicates that its high dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Healthcare stocks were down -0.01% in the last day, and up 0.22% over the last week. Akanda was the among the top losers in the healthcare sector, dropping -16.12% yesterday.

Akanda shares are trading higher after the company announced its subsidiary, First Towers & Fiber, provided an update on its operational milestones and expansion progress.

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

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals's stock has gained 285.84% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the healthcare sector by 381 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 38.56% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the healthcare sector by 134 percentage points.

Harmony Biosciences Holdings (NASDAQ:HRMY) 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.

Harmony Biosciences Holdings has a valuation score of 57, which is 43 points higher than the healthcare sector average of 14. It passed 4 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Harmony Biosciences Holdings's stock has gained 4.75% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the healthcare sector by 100 percentage points.

62.22% of healthcare stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect healthcare stocks to rise by 26.99% over the next year.

4.84% of healthcare stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 12.92% of healthcare stocks are rated B (Buy), 46.34% are rated C (Hold), 27.83% are rated D (Sell), and 8.07% are rated F (Strong Sell).