Top 10 Best Healthcare Stocks to Watch

Top 10 Best Healthcare Stocks to Watch

Healthcare stocks underperformed the S&P 500 in 2025, but the sector still attracts investors looking for businesses tied to long-term demand rather than short-term economic cycles. In the US, the national health spending outlook remains supportive: CMS projects average national health expenditure to increase 5.8% per year from 2024 to 2033, with health spending rising as a share of GDP over that period.

That does not mean every healthcare stock is a winner. In 2026, the “best healthcare stocks” conversation often comes down to two questions:

• Which companies have durable demand drivers and strong execution
• Which companies look reasonably priced relative to their risks and expectations

Below is a practical, ready-to-use watchlist of 10 healthcare stocks analysts highlighted for 2026, followed by a simple framework to evaluate them.

10 Best Healthcare Stocks To Research for 2026

The list below is based on CFRA analysts’ price targets and implied upside (as of the Feb 2, 2026 close, published Feb 3, 2026). Use it as a research starting point rather than a “buy list”.

• Eli Lilly (LLY)
• AbbVie (ABBV)
• Merck (MRK)
• Amgen (AMGN)
• Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
• Gilead Sciences (GILD)
• Danaher (DHR)
• Pfizer (PFE)
• Boston Scientific (BSX)
• Stryker (SYK)

Eli Lilly (LLY)

Lilly is one of the most closely watched pharmaceutical companies in 2026, largely because of its leadership in diabetes and obesity medicines and its broader pipeline beyond metabolic health. One near-term tailwind often discussed is expanded affordability pathways for obesity medicines in government-linked channels.

For example, Lilly’s November 2025 announcement described an agreement intended to expand access, including a framework where Medicare beneficiaries could pay no more than $50 per month for Zepbound starting as early as April 1, 2026 under the described programme terms.

What to watch: pricing and reimbursement dynamics, supply capacity, and how quickly demand converts into sustainable revenue rather than short-term spikes.

AbbVie (ABBV)

AbbVie remains a major name in large-cap pharma, with a market narrative that often focuses on how effectively the company replaces revenue from older blockbuster products with newer immunology brands.

What to watch: progress in newer franchises and how margins and cash flows hold up through lifecycle transitions.

Merck (MRK)

Merck is widely followed for its oncology and vaccine franchises. In 2026, investors continue to debate how the company manages the long runway before key product exclusivity changes, and whether the market is over-discounting that risk compared with Merck’s broader portfolio and pipeline strategy.

What to watch: pipeline depth, business development execution, and how diversified earnings look as the decade progresses.

Amgen (AMGN)

Amgen is a large-cap biotech with both marketed products and an active pipeline. Analysts often frame it as a way to get biotech exposure with more scale than smaller clinical-stage names.

What to watch: late-stage readouts, commercial performance of newer launches, and whether pipeline catalysts translate into durable revenue.

Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)

Intuitive Surgical sits in medical devices rather than drugs, with its robotic surgery ecosystem often viewed as a long-cycle platform business. These companies can benefit from procedure volumes, expanding indications, and recurring revenue tied to usage and instruments.

What to watch: hospital capital spending, competitive platforms, and whether procedure momentum remains steady across regions.

Gilead Sciences (GILD)

Gilead is known for HIV therapeutics and is also building out oncology. A notable development referenced in recent healthcare coverage is Gilead’s FDA approval of Yeztugo (lenacapavir) for HIV prevention, positioned as a twice-yearly option.

What to watch: uptake and payer coverage of new prevention options, and how oncology contributes over time.

Danaher (DHR)

Danaher is often grouped into “life science tools” rather than traditional pharma. Tools and diagnostics businesses can benefit when research activity and testing demand are healthy, but can also be sensitive to cycles in biotech funding and lab budgets.

What to watch: end-market demand signals in life science and diagnostics, and how acquisitions and portfolio changes affect margins.

Pfizer (PFE)

Pfizer remains a global pharma heavyweight, and in 2026 it is frequently discussed through the lens of pipeline rebuilding and oncology capabilities following major M&A moves. Obesity is another area investors are watching: Reuters reported mid-stage data for an obesity candidate Pfizer acquired via Metsera, highlighting both weight-loss outcomes and the market’s attention to tolerability questions.

What to watch: execution in oncology, pipeline productivity, and how new programmes compete in crowded categories.

Boston Scientific (BSX)

Boston Scientific is a major medtech name in cardiovascular and surgical categories. In device companies, product cycles and clinical data can meaningfully shift sentiment. Boston Scientific has emphasised platforms such as WATCHMAN FLX and FARAPULSE in atrial fibrillation related care, with the company publishing clinical and product information around these technologies.

What to watch: new product adoption curves, procedure volumes, and competitive positioning in fast-moving device categories.

Stryker (SYK)

Stryker is a leading orthopaedics and surgical technology business. Orthopaedics tends to be supported by demographics and procedure demand, while robotics and outpatient care trends can influence how quickly systems are adopted.

What to watch: elective procedure volumes, hospital and outpatient investment cycles, and whether robotics expansion continues.

How To Choose the Best Healthcare Stocks

A strong healthcare shortlist is not just “the biggest names”. It is a mix of business models that behave differently.

Start With The Subsector

• Pharma and Biotech: driven by patents, clinical trial results, and pipelines
• Medtech: driven by procedure volumes, device adoption, and product cycles
• Life Science Tools: driven by lab demand, research budgets, and diagnostics activity

If you do not want one clinical trial or one policy headline to dominate outcomes, it can help to diversify across at least two of these buckets.

Use A Simple Quality Checklist

When assessing any “best healthcare stocks” candidate, check:

• Revenue concentration: is the business overly dependent on one product or one procedure type
• Pipeline or product roadmap: what replaces today’s best-sellers over the next 3 to 5 years
• Balance sheet and cash flow: ability to fund R&D and withstand setbacks
• Reimbursement exposure: how sensitive margins are to payer and government policy changes
• Valuation versus expectations: even great businesses can disappoint if expectations are extreme

Healthcare is policy-sensitive. CMS projections show the sector’s importance in the economy is likely to increase over time, but policy shifts can affect who captures that spending and at what margin.

Conclusion

The best healthcare stocks for 2026 are not just “popular tickers”. They are companies with durable demand drivers, credible execution, and valuations that make sense relative to their risks. The CFRA-based list above is a useful watchlist because it spans pharma, biotech, medtech, and life science tools.

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