Many investors view the healthcare sector as a safe haven when the stock market is turbulent. That's understandable. The demand for healthcare products and services typically holds up very well regardless of what's happening with the market or the economy.
Some healthcare stocks are better picks than others. And you won't need a fortune to invest in a few of the best. Here are three no-brainer healthcare stocks to buy with $1,000 right now.
1. AbbVie
Many stocks have pulled back significantly in the first few months of 2025 amid worries about the Trump administration's trade policies. But not AbbVie (ABBV 0.07%). Shares of the big drugmaker are up around 20% year to date.
NYSE: ABBV
Key Data Points
AbbVie's product lineup is led by blockbuster drugs targeting autoimmune diseases, with Rinvoq and Skyrizi delivering especially strong sales growth. The company's cancer drugs Imbruvica and Venclexta are also big winners. AbbVie's 2020 acquisition of Allergan made it a top player in the aesthetics market as well, with top-sellers including Botox and Juvederm.
You can pick up one share of AbbVie for around $212 as of this writing. That's an attractive price considering the company's growth prospects. AbbVie's price-to-earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio based on five-year earnings growth projections is a super-low 0.45, according to financial data and infrastructure provider LSEG.
To add icing to the cake, AbbVie offers a nice forward dividend yield of 3.09%. The company is also a Dividend King with a track record of 53 consecutive years of dividend increases.
2. Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX +1.23%) has delivered an even bigger gain than AbbVie in 2025 with its shares soaring more than 20% year to date while the overall market sank. Part of Vertex's attraction is that it commands a virtual monopoly in treating the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis (CF).
NASDAQ: VRTX
Key Data Points
However, Vertex has also benefited from two key U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals in recent months. The FDA gave a thumbs-up to the company's newest CF drug, Alyftrek, on Dec. 20, 2024. It approved Vertex's non-opioid drug Journavx for treating acute pain on Jan. 30, 2025.
I fully expect both of these drugs will be huge growth drivers for Vertex. Alyftrek is taken once per day, a more convenient dosing than the company's current flagship CF therapy Trikafta. Vertex also won't have to pay as much in royalties for the new drug. Journavx has an especially big market opportunity because of the addictive qualities and negative side effects associated with opioids.
One share of Vertex will cost you a little under $500. This modest investment will also allow you to potentially profit from the biotech innovator's pipeline, which features four late-stage programs including a promising islet cell therapy that could cure severe type 1 diabetes.
3. Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals
Unlike AbbVie and Vertex, Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals (KNSA 1.10%) isn't profitable yet. Don't let that concern you, though. This up-and-coming biotech stock is still handily beating the market so far this year with a solid double-digit percentage gain.
NASDAQ: KNSA
Key Data Points
Kiniksa arguably has a gold mine with Arcalyst, a drug approved by the FDA in March 2021 for treating recurrent pericarditis, a painful cardiovascular disease. Sales for Arcalyst skyrocketed 79% year over year in 2024 to $417 million. The company projects sales of the drug could reach as much as $580 million this year.
That could be just the tip of the iceberg, though. Kiniksa has captured only around 13% of the market. And Arcalyst remains the only FDA-approved therapy for treating recurrent pericarditis.
You'll have plenty of money left over after buying AbbVie and Vertex to invest in Kiniksa with its share price of around $22. I think the move will pay off as Arcalyst gains additional market share and the company advances its other pipeline programs.
