Everyone needs healthcare and, because we will always need it, this is a significant area of investment for those seeking opportunities. With companies increasing their spending and healthcare growing around the world, investors stand to make a great return on their investments if they invest in the right companies.
There are different healthcare costs you could add to your portfolio but, instead of looking at all of them, we will look at general healthcare stocks, biotech stocks and pharmaceutical stocks. There is a lot happening in the latter two segments, with discoveries, increasing profits and continuous injections of cash, meaning these sectors will continue growing well into the future.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Vertex Pharmaceuticals manufacture drugs to treat cystic fibrosis and command a near-monopoly on the drug that treats the underlying cause. The company has invested heavily into cystic fibrosis medications, with a drug they are coming up with by combining two previous cystic fibrosis drugs projected to help the company expand its patient base by over 50%. The company also has several promising new cystic fibrosis drugs in the second phase of trials.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals is also working on a partnership with CRISPR Therapeutics for the development of gene-editing therapies. These therapies will target blood diseases like sickle-cell anemia and beta-thalassemia. Finally, the company is also developing a drug that has shown promise in the treatment of type 1 diabetes.
Vertex is a very profitable company already and with everything it has coming up, investors can expect their share price to keep growing. This is especially so considering that the company also has massive reserves that will help them in the development of new drugs and therapies in the future.
AbbVie
AbbVie develops a rheumatoid arthritis drug known as Humira besides several other drugs and therapies. Humira is their most profitable drug, bringing in over a billion dollars in annual revenue. Investors should note that the patent for Humira will expire in 2023, but the company seeks to have other profitable drugs in the market by then.
AbbVie has two blood cancer treatments, Venclexta and Imbruvica, which are performing really well, and the company seeks to increase its profits through the sale of two new anti-inflammatory drugs. Investors will also be interested to know the company bought Allergan, a Botox manufacturer, and increased their profits by over 38% in 2020 because of it.
AbbVie is also concluding 20 clinical trials that are already in the third phase while still pursuing approvals for additional drugs in their roster. Some of the promising drugs in phase 3 clinical tests include medications that treat migraines, Parkinson’s and myelofibrosis.
The reason AbbVie is such a great investment is not only because of its impressive model and profitability but also because it has increased its dividend payouts for close to half a century. This makes it one of the best companies to invest in for those interested in dividend stocks. For further incentive, the company has increased its dividend payouts by 128% from 2015 to 2020.
Power Financial Corporation
Although Power Financial Corporation is not fully in the healthcare sector, its serious involvement in the sector warrants its addition to this list. The company offers various financial and health-related services in Asia, Europe, United States, and Canada. Its products include general health critical illness, disability, and life insurance. It also offers several wealth management wealth savings, retirement accounts, contribution plans, and other financial services.
Power Financial Corporation has some of the best dividend stocks in Canada with a yield of over 5%, with the company having an annual turnover of over $23 billion. Its strength in both of the markets it is in and its healthy financial standing are the reasons why it is a great idea to invest in. To get started, you can talk to WealthSimple.
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Intuitive Surgical
If you are looking to invest in a promising biotech company, Intuitive Surgical is your best option. Intuitive Surgical is a robotics company that premiered its da Vinci robotic system in 1999. The robot has been used in over seven million successful procedures.
The company’s prospects dipped in 2020 due to a reduction in the number of elective surgeries, but experts see this as a great opportunity for investors. The company’s stock has rebounded a bit, but it is still zigzagging with an upward trend as the pandemic passes. Once everything is back to normal, the company will resume its strong growth and the price will grow more than it is doing right now.
Intuitive Surgical stocks are also valuable because their da Vinci system will be in high demand in the future as the population ages and more people require the types of surgical procedures that only this robot can perform.
Exelixis
Although Exelixis has four wildly successful drugs in the market, there is one drug that stands out: Cabometyx. Cabometyx has been approved to treat hepatocellular carcinoma and renal cell carcinoma, two of the most common types of liver and kidney cancers, respectively.
Exelixis is working with other drug companies to combine Cabometyx with their drugs to ensure better outcomes for patients with liver or kidney cancer.
Exelixis is highly profitable, which means it will use its massive cash stockpile to keep developing new drugs or to get into new license agreements that allow it to offer even more drugs to those who need them. Exelixis has also acquired several cancer drug programs from other companies. If this trend continues, investors who put their money in Exelixis’s stock should be happy they made the investment down the line.
Teladoc Health
As technology advances, more people need healthcare, and the ongoing shortage of nurses and physicians continues, telemedicine will continue to grow in healthcare. Teladoc Health provides telehealth services that allow physicians and nurses to reach patients and those in need of care in rural and underserved areas over the phone and through the internet.
Teladoc Health acquired Livongo Health in 2020 and this has enabled the company to expand its telehealth services to those suffering from chronic conditions and illnesses like diabetes.
The need for telehealth services has also fuelled Teladoc Health’s growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts project their growth to continue well past the pandemic’s end as institutions, the government and health insurers all try to reduce healthcare costs – something that Teladoc Health’s telehealth solutions allow its users to do.
Novavax
Although many people will know Novavax as the company that developed one of the most reliable COVID-19 vaccines, Novavax is actually a huge player in the biotechnology world. It develops vaccines for other life-threatening illnesses such as Ebola, influenza and many others. The company is still developing new vaccines, with the latest vaccine to come from the company being NanoFlue. Although this is an experimental flu vaccine, the company is also thinking of combining it with its COVID-19 vaccine for better patient outcomes.
The company’s stock grew by over 10,000% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020 and its share price has grown by over 145% over the past year. Experts agree that the company’s share price will continue rising and this makes it a great option to buy.
However, there are those of the thinking that investors should wait to see how the price behaves over the next few months as it is possible it is still being influenced by the highs it rose to due to the COVID-19 vaccine.
Danaher Corporation
Danaher Corporation is an American technology and science company. Its primary business is in the provision of medical and diagnostic equipment. The company also manufactures industrial and commercial products. The main corporation owns 20 other companies and has a worldwide workforce.
All the companies under the Danaher Corporation umbrella have seen tremendous growth over the past year, with the company’s stock growing by over 55% in the past year.
Investors are very excited about Danaher Corporation as it has acquired Aldevron LLC. Aldevron produces enzymes, mRNAs, and plasmid DNA, all of which are important for the manufacture of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Because of its strong global network and the assumption that it will continue growing and acquiring other companies, Danaher Corporation remains one of the best stocks to add to your portfolio in 2021.
Investing in companies in the healthcare, biomedical, and pharmaceutical sectors might not seem lucrative, especially considering that the high of the pandemic has almost passed. However, each of the companies discussed above is doing something that will see its revenues keep growing past the pandemic. That may be developing new drugs, acquiring other companies, or collaborating with other companies to bring new medications and products to the market. This makes the stocks above great for adding to your existing portfolio.