The healthcare industry is very broad – you have your hospitals, medical equipment providers, and the red hot biotech stocks. During the pandemic, this sector has performed magnificently well on the whole. Healthcare stocks have attracted a lot more interest from investors during these turbulent times as they have been in the news far more than during pre-pandemic times.
Vaccine on the Cards: How Will it Affect the Healthcare Stocks?
Australia is home to a fair bit of biotech firms that are developing very interesting products that are tackling conditions that do not have a lot of treatments. There is also healthcare stock on the ASX that will benefit from a vaccine because their operations can function without headwinds. You can view our previous blog post on stocks standing to benefit from a vaccine by clicking here.
Without further ado, let’s get into our pick for top healthcare stocks on the ASX right now.
Top 5 Best Healthcare Stocks ASX to Look Out For
Monash IVF (ASX: MVF)
MVFis an Australian owned publicly traded company in the human fertility and assisted reproductive industry. The firm generates all its revenues from these services in Australia and partly in Malaysia. MVF is the second biggest player in Australia’s fertility industry, behind Virtus Health, and ahead of Genea. They have a stellar number of clinics along with 85 fertility specialists. To diversify their business, MVF has also been investing in the diagnostic and ultrasound sound space – de-risking the stock. With high dividends, MVF is a top healthcare stock to add to your portfolio.
Resmed Inc. (ASX: RMD)
ResMed is a medical equipment manufacturing company based out of San Diego, California, USA. In addition to the equipment it manufactures and sells, ResMed also provides a cloud-based software for diagnosis and treatment of sleep disordered breathing and other respiratory disorders without the need of a hospital. ResMed’s products are designed so that they can be used from home and are aimed to treat sleep apnea and other respiratory disorders. They operate in 140 countries globally and demand a $37.3 billion valuation on the ASX.
The sleep apnea market is estimated to be worth over $4.5 billion. The pandemic has shifted consumer behaviour. Health & wellbeing products are in demand and a lot of growth is expected in this space. Definitely a top healthcare stock.
Mesoblast (ASX: MSB)
The bio-pharma firm that is listed on the ASX and NASDAQ develops cellular medicines using stem cells to treat complex diseases that are resistant to conventional care – such as cardiovascular, spine orthopaedic disorder, etc. The firm’s drugs are developed for “off-the-shelf” use and they have a number of products in the clinical stage prior to FDA approvals. MSB has been a problem child on the ASX given its volatility, However, it still has a stellar, diversified pipeline of product candidates. For investors looking to take on the risk, MSB may just be the healthcare stock you are looking for.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Limited (ASX: FPH)
FPH is one of those gems to come out of New Zealand. They manufacture and sell medical respiratory products all over the world – both for hospital and homecare. Yes, respiratory products. These are in high demand during the pandemic and investors jumped on the bandwagon earlyon. However, as news of a vaccine emerged, investors have started dumping the stock. Underneath it all, however, it is a very well run company that is not going anywhere. They are the market leader in their space and they will grow as countries around the world have realised they have to up their game and sort out their healthcare systems to manage a crisis such as Covid19 in the future – making this a good time to buy the
Ramsay Healthcare (ASX: RHC)
The Sydney based healthcare company has a global footprint. They have over 480 facilities in 11 countries. Yeah, they are the big daddy of the healthcare industry. Since the Covid19 outbreak, Ramsay Health Care has served on the frontlines by setting up Covid19 response efforts by working with governments. RHC assisted local hospitals by supplying beds and ventilators to better manage the crisis. The reduction in non-essential surgeries has impacted the firm in the short-term, and it looks like investors have hence sold the stock. In the long-term though, healthcare firms do not come as diversified as Ramsay. The price now may be an opportunity for investors to add this huge healthcare stock to their portfolio.
Conclusion
Healthcare will play a central role as we emerge from the pandemic. We should also expect increased government spending to bolster healthcare systems. At shares in value, we look at both – the big daddy of the healthcare sector and also small cap, up and coming healthcare stocks that have huge potential. We urge you to get in touch with our team for expert advice.
