Personal health and wellness is one of the many secular tailwinds for healthcare companies. But financial performance has lagged recently as players offloaded surplus COVID inventories in 2023 and 2024, a headwind for overall demand. The result? Over the past six months, the industry has tumbled by 13%. This performance was worse than the S&P 500’s 5.5% fall.
Despite the lackluster result, a few diamonds in the rough can produce earnings growth no matter what, and we started StockStory to help you find them. On that note, here are two resilient healthcare stocks at the top of our wish list and one best left ignored.
One Healthcare Stock to Sell:
Omnicell (OMCL)
Market Cap: $1.21 billion
Driven by the vision of an "Autonomous Pharmacy" with zero medication errors, Omnicell (NASDAQ: OMCL) provides medication management automation and adherence tools that help healthcare systems and pharmacies reduce errors and improve efficiency.
Why Do We Avoid OMCL?
- Annual sales declines of 5.4% for the past two years show its products and services struggled to connect with the market during this cycle
- Revenue base of $1.14 billion puts it at a disadvantage compared to larger competitors exhibiting economies of scale
- Performance over the past five years shows its incremental sales were much less profitable, as its earnings per share fell by 7.5% annually
At $26 per share, Omnicell trades at 14x forward P/E. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why OMCL doesn’t pass our bar.
Two Healthcare Stocks to Watch:
UnitedHealth (UNH)
Market Cap: $345.3 billion
With over 100 million people served across its various businesses and a workforce of more than 400,000, UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) operates a health insurance business and Optum, a healthcare services division that provides everything from pharmacy benefits to primary care.
Why Will UNH Outperform?
- Dominant market position is represented by its $410.1 billion in revenue, which gives it negotiating power over membership pricing and reimbursement rates
- Share buybacks catapulted its annual earnings per share growth to 13.1%, which outperformed its revenue gains over the last five years
- ROIC punches in at 21.6%, illustrating management’s expertise in identifying profitable investments
UnitedHealth’s stock price of $380.40 implies a valuation ratio of 12.4x forward P/E. Is now a good time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.
agilon health (AGL)
Market Cap: $1.20 billion
Transforming how doctors care for seniors by shifting financial incentives from volume to outcomes, agilon health (NYSE: AGL) provides a platform that helps primary care physicians transition to value-based care models for Medicare patients through long-term partnerships and global capitation arrangements.
Why Could AGL Be a Winner?
- Annual revenue growth of 40.5% over the past two years was outstanding, reflecting market share gains this cycle
- Business is winning new contracts that can potentially increase in value as its customer base averaged 34.7% growth over the past two years
- Free cash flow profile has moved into break even territory, indicating the company has achieved financial self-sustainability
agilon health is trading at $2.88 per share, or 0.2x forward price-to-sales. Is now the right time to buy? Find out in our full research report, it’s free.
Stocks We Like Even More
Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs.
While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 9 Market-Beating Stocks. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 176% over the last five years.
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.
