Technological progress sometimes renders products or entire industries completely obsolete. That's true even within the healthcare sector, which as a whole is unlikely to fall out of style anytime soon. Even so, individual healthcare companies must constantly innovate to stay relevant and deliver consistent performances over the long run.
With that said, let's look at two healthcare stocks with solid track records of innovation and are worth buying and holding onto for good: Regeneron (REGN -0.84%) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT 0.63%).
1. Regeneron
Biotech giant Regeneron has outperformed the market over the past year, partly thanks to the company's excellent financial results and prospects. In the second quarter, Regeneron grew its sales by 11% year over year to $3.16 billion. Its net income jumped by 14% year over year to $968 million. Although sales of the company's coronavirus portfolio have declined, the drugmaker can rely on two key assets in the midterm to keep its revenue and earnings growing.
The first is Dupixent, an internally developed medicine for atopic dermatitis (eczema), co-marketed with Sanofi. Dupixent's sales are growing rapidly (global sales soared by 33% year over year in Q2), but things could get even better within the next year or so, provided Regeneron and Sanofi earn approval for it in treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Earlier this year, the partners released positive results from a phase 3 clinical trial along those lines. If Dupixent earns an indication as a treatment for COPD, it will move the needle for the drug -- and Regeneron's sales.
The second key asset the biotech can count on is a high-dose formulation of Eylea, a treatment it developed and co-markets with Roche for an eye disease called age-related macular degeneration. The high-dose version could decrease the number of times it is administered annually compared to the original formulation of Eylea.
It is worth noting that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently declined to approve Regeneron's high-dose formulation of Eylea, but that was due to issues identified by the agency at a manufacturing site of a third-party filler of the medicine. There were no safety or efficacy issues, nor did the FDA request additional trials.
In other words, Regeneron's higher-dose Eylea will almost certainly earn the nod eventually. Eylea's new formulation and Dupixent should drive solid revenue and earnings growth for Regeneron for a while. They also exemplify the company's ability to develop innovative and highly successful medicines. Regeneron currently has many more programs in its pipeline.
REGN Revenue (Quarterly) data by YCharts.
Over the past decade, the company's revenue, earnings, and free cash flow have generally followed a solid upward trajectory, with an abnormal rise when it started selling coronavirus medicines. The company could sustain its improving financial results and market-beating ways for a long time to come.
2. Abbott Laboratories
Abbott Laboratories is a medical device specialist that boasts dozens of products across several areas, including diabetes, structural heart, and cardiovascular care. The company also owns several other segments: diagnostics, established pharmaceuticals, and nutrition.
One of Abbott's strengths is its long and successful history navigating the heavily regulated healthcare industry. The company is a known leader in its field, meaning the physicians who use its devices to treat their patients -- sometimes for life-threatening conditions -- know they can trust Abbott's products. Its entrenched position in its sector is a significant strength.
But the company doesn't just rely on past prestige. Abbott Labs continues to innovate. Just last year, the company won three awards (for three separate products) at the CES Innovation Awards, an annual event organized by the Consumer Technology Association to honor breakthrough technological advances in life sciences.
Abbott's FreeStlye Libre, a continuous glucose monitoring system, also won a separate innovation award late last year. The company's robust portfolio and its ability to develop newer and better products have generally led to solid financial results. And there's every reason to think Abbott will continue down that road for a long time.
ABT Revenue (Quarterly) data by YCharts.
The need for the kinds of products it offers will only increase alongside our aging population. Here's one more reason to consider Abbott's stock: The dividend. The company is a Dividend King on its 51st consecutive year of payout increases. Abbott's 264% dividend hike over the past 10 years alone is impressive. The company's 1.85% yield isn't huge, but it still beats the S&P 500's average of 1.54%.
Abbott Laboratories may not have the most exciting business around. However, the company's solid fundamentals, innovative potential, industry know-how, and dividend combine to make it an excellent stock for investors to buy and hold in August -- or in any month, for that matter.
