What do investors considering healthcare stocks like Intuitive Surgical (ISRG 1.56%), Abbott Labs (ABT 1.04%), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ -0.76%) need to remember in 2021?
In this Motley Fool Live video, recorded on Jan. 29, healthcare and cannabis bureau chief Corinne Cardina and Fool.com writer Cory Renauer discuss two key takeaways for shareholders of the sector's most successful businesses.
Corinne Cardina: What are three takeaways for investors who are thinking about buying healthcare stocks?
Cory Renauer: Maybe we will narrow it down to just two takeaways.
Cardina: Sure.
Renauer: If you hold shares of profitable stocks long enough, eventually, you're going to come out ahead. If you're an investor that gets nervous about day-to-day stock market fluctuations, you know this past week was a little bit nerve-racking, holding a strongly profitable company like Intuitive Surgical or Abbott Labs, or Johnson & Johnson, makes it a lot easier to take short-term market fluctuations in stride, and the best way to make money in stocks is to hold those stocks for a long time. You might not see 20% gains year after year. But nice companies like these, you're not going to lose money if you hang onto them.
Sorry. Second takeaway. COVID-19 and all the weird effects that it's having on the stock market, these are temporary. Demand for diagnostics is going to drop. But on the other hand, healthcare providers are going to return to normal, and Intuitive Surgical will be able to continue growing. You've got to think on a long-term basis.
