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.

Sector: Healthcare
Ticker
Company
Zen Rating
Value
Growth
Momentum
Sentiment
Safety
Financials
AI
1w Zen Rating
1m Zen Rating
3m Zen Rating
1y Zen Rating
BMY
BRISTOL MYERS SQUIBB CO
AACBABBBAAAB
PBYI
PUMA BIOTECHNOLOGY INC
AACABCACABBB
ELMD
ELECTROMED INC
ACBBABACAAAB
ETON
ETON PHARMACEUTICALS INC
ACAAADACAABC
CNC
CENTENE CORP
ABBBACBBAABC

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Use the proven Zen Ratings quant model to find stocks with high potential to beat the market. Stocks Zen-Rated "A" have beaten the market by +28.50% annually. Learn More

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Healthcare Industries

IndustryStocks1d %1w %1m %1y %DD ScoreP/E ratioP/B RatioROEROAROCEUpside/DownsideConsensus
613-0.66%+1.64%+7.19%-17.98%18.56x5.57x-15.13%-10.95%-8.57%+46.54%Strong Buy
50-0.34%+3.55%+10.09%+23.82%14.40x4.48x-25.43%+5.42%+11.81%+0.98%Buy
20-0.08%+5.31%+6.39%+49.25%40.91x8.31x+25.85%+10.89%+19.30%+4.98%Buy
75+0.18%+0.39%-1.16%-93.84%2.74x1.67x+2.45%+3.59%+20.64%+40.41%Strong Buy
10+1.15%+1.07%-1.15%+22.84%52.50x2.37x+10.84%+3.32%+8.21%+10.47%Buy
50-0.41%+4.15%+20.60%-37.95%10.43x3.87x+6.24%+3.17%+8.22%+15.34%Buy
48-0.30%+1.85%+3.39%+7.12%17.17x5.62x-40.58%+6.94%+13.63%+10.69%Buy
133-0.80%+0.62%+9.31%-99.46%24.64x3.37x-4.67%+5.19%+9.51%+21.95%Strong Buy
9+1.63%+1.42%+3.44%+27.84%25.42x-176.85x-71.67%+4.08%+24.10%+13.05%Buy
52-0.44%+2.13%+13.77%+5.01%44.70x3.35x+7.77%+6.59%+10.29%+12.67%Buy

Healthcare Stocks FAQ

What are the best healthcare stocks to buy right now in Aug 2026?

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:

1. Bristol Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY)


Bristol Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) is the #1 top healthcare stock out of 1060 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 50, which is 24 points higher than the healthcare sector average of 26. It passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Bristol Myers Squibb Co has seen its stock return 42.72% over the past year, overperforming other healthcare stocks by 138 percentage points.

Bristol Myers Squibb Co has an average 1 year price target of $67.40, an upside of 0.18% from Bristol Myers Squibb Co's current stock price of $67.28.

Bristol Myers Squibb Co stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 11 analysts covering Bristol Myers Squibb Co, 54.55% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 45.45% have issued a Hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

2. Puma Biotechnology (NASDAQ:PBYI)


Puma Biotechnology (NASDAQ:PBYI) is the #2 top healthcare stock out of 1060 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: A, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: A, and AI: C.

Puma Biotechnology (NASDAQ:PBYI) has a Due Diligence Score of 52, which is 26 points higher than the healthcare sector average of 26. It passed 16 out of 33 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Puma Biotechnology has seen its stock return 82.77% over the past year, overperforming other healthcare stocks by 178 percentage points.

Puma Biotechnology has an average 1 year price target of $6.00, a downside of -34.21% from Puma Biotechnology's current stock price of $9.12.

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.

3. Electromed (NYSEMKT:ELMD)


Electromed (NYSEMKT:ELMD) is the #3 top healthcare stock out of 1060 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 99.46% over the past year, overperforming other healthcare stocks by 195 percentage points.

Electromed has an average 1 year price target of $40.00, a downside of -0.72% from Electromed's current stock price of $40.29.

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.

What are the healthcare stocks with highest dividends?

Out of 78 healthcare stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 healthcare stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

1. Cumberland Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPIX)


Cumberland Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CPIX) has an annual dividend yield of 38.27%, which is 36 percentage points higher than the healthcare sector average of 2.62%.

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

2. Siga Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA)


Siga Technologies (NASDAQ:SIGA) has an annual dividend yield of 20.41%, which is 18 percentage points higher than the healthcare sector average of 2.62%.

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

3. Spok Holdings (NASDAQ:SPOK)


Spok Holdings (NASDAQ:SPOK) has an annual dividend yield of 11.75%, which is 9 percentage points higher than the healthcare sector average of 2.62%. 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.

Why are healthcare stocks down?

Healthcare stocks were down -0.34% in the last day, and up 2.19% over the last week. Regenxbio was the among the top losers in the healthcare sector, dropping -24.86% yesterday.

REGENXBIO shares are trading lower after the company announced that the FDA placed a clinical hold on RGX-121 following the discovery of asymptomatic spine MRI findings in five participants in the CAMPSIITE study

What are the most undervalued healthcare stocks?

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:

1. Ironwood Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:IRWD)


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 225.2% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the healthcare sector by 320 percentage points.

2. Harmony Biosciences Holdings (NASDAQ:HRMY)


Harmony Biosciences Holdings (NASDAQ:HRMY) 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.

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 2.89% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the healthcare sector by 98 percentage points.

3. Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL)


Exelixis (NASDAQ:EXEL) 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.

Exelixis has a valuation score of 29, which is 15 points higher than the healthcare sector average of 14. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Exelixis's stock has gained 43.93% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the healthcare sector by 139 percentage points.

Are healthcare stocks a good buy now?

61.34% of healthcare stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect healthcare stocks to rise by 24.13% over the next year.

4.84% of healthcare stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 13.15% of healthcare stocks are rated B (Buy), 46.28% are rated C (Hold), 28.29% are rated D (Sell), and 7.44% are rated F (Strong Sell).

What is the average p/e ratio of the healthcare sector?

The average P/E ratio of the healthcare sector is 31.74x.
WallStreetZen does not provide financial advice and does not issue recommendations or offers to buy stock or sell any security.

Information is provided 'as-is' and solely for informational purposes and is not advice. WallStreetZen does not bear any responsibility for any losses or damage that may occur as a result of reliance on this data.