Best Health Care Stocks To Buy Now? 4 In Focus This Week
While the stock market continues to be under pressure following last week’s turbulence, investors could be eyeing health care stocks now. Why? Well, for starters, fears over a potential partial government shutdown are weighing in on market sentiments this week. This would be the case as Congress faces the incoming deadline to fund the government and deal with the $28.4 trillion debt ceiling. Namely, with this factor in play, investors may be considering more defensive stocks. This would be where the ever-important health care industry comes in.
After all, the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage on across parts of the world. Because of this, the focus on the health care trade has all but died out. Even now, there is no shortage of new players to consider in this highly relevant industry. For example, we could look at the likes of Cue Health (NASDAQ: HLTH). The company is reportedly the main supplier of at-home Covid test kits for Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) subsidiary Google. Last Friday, Cue Health went public and saw its shares jump by 25% to $20 at close, putting it at about a $2.9 billion valuation. Given all of this, will you be watching these top health care stocks in the stock market this week?
Top Health Care Stocks To Watch Today
- Bristol Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY)
- Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE)
- Clover Health Investments Corporation (NASDAQ: CLOV)
- Teladoc Health Inc. (NYSE: TDOC)
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co
Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) is a multinational pharmaceutical company with headquarters in New York City. In fact, the company is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies and develops treatments for a wide variety of illnesses. Namely, this includes therapeutic areas like cancer, HIV/AIDS, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and others. In 2020, the company says that it has invested $11.1 billion in R&D in pursuit of new treatments and medicines. BMY stock currently trades at $60.60 as of 10:34 a.m. ET.
Today, the company announced that the FDA has accepted its applications for Opdivo in combination with Yervoy and Opdivo in combination with chemotherapy as first-line treatments for adults with unresectable advanced, recurrent or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. This is after applications based on its Phase 3 CheckMate-648 trial had shown significant overall survival benefit over chemotherapy alone. BMY says that additional treatment options are needed to improve upon outcomes achieved with the standard of care and this acceptance could be a step towards that direction. Given this exciting piece of news, will you consider watching BMY stock right now?
Read More
Pfizer Inc.
Next up, we have Pfizer, a global health care company that also develops and produces medicines and vaccines for immunology, oncology, cardiology, and neurology. Impressively, the company has several ‘blockbuster drugs’ that each generate more than $1 billion in annual revenues. Last week, it received FDA emergency use authorization of its coronavirus vaccine booster. The booster will be given to individuals 65 years of age and older and individuals ages 18 to 64 within certain high-risk groups. PFE stock currently costs $44.04 a piece as of 10:34 a.m. ET.
Today, it announced the start of its Phase 2/3 EPIC-PEP study to evaluate the investigational novel oral antiviral candidate PF-07321332, co-administered with a low dose of ritonavir for the prevention of infection from the coronavirus. This Phase 2/3 trial is part of a global clinical research program and is enrolling individuals who are at least 18 years old and live in the same household as an individual with a confirmed symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.
Pfizer believes that this therapy could help stop the virus early before it has the chance to replicate extensively. This treatment could be game-changing given how breakthrough infections are now possible with the newest variants of the coronavirus. All things considered, is this the time to invest in PFE stock right now?
[Read More] Top Stocks To Buy Now? 4 Renewable Energy Stocks For Your Watchlist
Clover Health Investment Corp
Following that, we have Clover Health Investments Corp in our list of health care stocks. The company operates a next-generation Medicare Advantage insurer, which leverages its flagship software platform, the Clover Assistant. In essence, it provides great care in a sustainable way. It does so with a business model built around improving medical outcomes while lowering avoidable costs. With the Clover Assistant, the company aggregates patient data from across the health ecosystem to support clinical decision-making by presenting health care providers with real-time, personalized recommendations at the point of care. CLOV stock currently trades at $7.80 as of 10:34 a.m. ET.
Last week, the company announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved its service area expansion to operate in 101 new counties. With this approved service area expansion beginning January 1, 2022, Clover’s Medicare Advantage (MA) plans will be available to eligible individuals in 101 new counties across Georgia, New Jersey, South Carolina, Texas, and Alabama – a new state for the company.
Given this, Clover Health will bring affordable, wide network plans to additional previously underserved communities, which it believes is the key to achieving health equity for the country’s aging population. The company has essentially doubled its service counties in one year and is testimony to its scalability. With that being said, is CLOV stock worth adding to your portfolio?
[Read More] 5 Dividend Paying Stocks To Watch This Week
Teladoc Health Inc.
Another name to consider amongst health care stocks now would be Teladoc. As the name suggests, the company primarily specializes in providing telehealth services. Aside from that, Teladoc also offers healthcare-related services revolving around medical opinions, artificial intelligence and analytics, and telehealth devices. Thanks to all of this, Teladoc is now a leading name in the virtual care industry. Now, TDOC stock currently trades at $134.25 as of 10:34 a.m. ET.
Overall, the current case for Teladoc would be the relevance of its general public offerings amidst the pandemics. Accordingly, its contactless telehealth solutions would be favorable during such times. Despite all of this, some investors could be considering the long-term potential of TDOC stock post-pandemic. To remedy this, Teladoc appears to be hard at work expanding its partnerships in the medical world.
As of this month, Teladoc is now working with Proximie, a health tech platform operator focusing on digitizing operating rooms. Through this collaboration, Teladoc users can conduct virtual surgical mentoring and proctoring while providing technical support. All in all, would you consider TDOC stock a top buy now?
