Sheaff Brock Discusses Six Healthcare Stocks and Their Potential for Profits

Indianapolis Registered Investment Advisory Firm

INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Sheaff Brock CIO Dave Gilreath presents six healthcare industry stocks that, in his opinion, appear to have healthy vitals in an article for CNBC, "Op-ed: Here are 6 stocks with excellent vital signs in the health-care sector."

"Health care is the 'Energizer bunny' sector, with reliable revenues from continuing high demand," Gilreath writes. With higher demand comes projections of increased healthcare profits from 2021–2025, according to a McKinsey & Co. study completed this year.

Gilreath lists six healthcare stocks whom he believes have excellent vital signs, including "low-risk fundamentals, reasonable debt, good price-earnings ratios, sanguine growth projects, and healthy dividend yields":

• UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (UNH): United Health and its subsidiary, Optum, have average analyst projections for earnings per share that are expected to increase by roughly 23% each year over five years.
• CVS Health Corporation (CVS): CVS Health has recently developed customer engagement programs that provide them with the potential to increase drug sales and insurance enrollments in Aetna, which CVS owns, all with a 0.47% debt-to-capital ratio.
• Abbott Laboratories (ABT): A company with a diversified product line—such as glucose-monitoring system innovations and cardiac drugs—and a high return on equity of almost 24%, Abbott Laboratories has the potential to outperform the market in 2023.
• Medtronic (MDT): Medtronic both has a backlog of demand due to the pandemic and the potential for growth with a lineup of new robotically assisted surgery products that recently received approval for use in Europe.
• Premier, Inc. (PINC), Class A: Premier appears well-positioned to profit as the healthcare sector grows, as it provides a wide array of products throughout the industry, from medical, surgical, and laboratory products to information technology, clinical engineering, and third-party administrative services.
• Merck & Co. (MRK): With a lineup of cutting-edge drugs treating cardiac conditions, diabetes, and cancer, as well as a projected annual return on equity of 43.58%, Merck stands to profit over the coming months.

For these reasons, Gilreath argues that the healthcare industry is worth exploring for long-term investors looking for stocks with high growth potential and a record of resiliency in downturns.

About Sheaff Brock:
Sheaff Brock is an SEC-registered, fee-only independent investment firm striving to enhance portfolios of growth- and income-oriented investors, managing $959.9 million in assets nationwide as of 9/30/2022. Managing Director David Gilreath contributes investment commentary to CNBC.com, TD Ameritrade Network, and Financial Advisor magazine. Visit Sheaff Brock YouTube for information.

Disclaimer: 
Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors, LLC ("SBIA") is an SEC-registered investment advisor founded in 2001. Clients or prospective clients are directed to SBIA's Form ADV Part 2A prior to deciding to participate in any portfolio or making any investment decision. The views and opinions in the preceding commentary are subject to change without notice and are as of the date of the report. There is no guarantee that any market forecast set forth in the commentary will be realized. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific point in time, should not be relied upon as investment advice, and is not intended to predict or depict performance of any investment.

SOURCE Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors