6 Best Healthcare Stocks to Buy in 2025

Investing in the Best Healthcare Stocks

By Keith Speights – Updated Sep 1, 2025 at 11:15 AM | Fact-checked by Frank Bass

Key Points

The U.S. spends $4.9 trillion on healthcare, half of global expenditure, indicating a growing sector.
Top healthcare stocks include Vertex Pharmaceuticals and UnitedHealth Group, showing varied investment options.
Investors should evaluate growth potential, financial health, and stock valuation when choosing healthcare stocks.

Everybody needs healthcare -- or will, at some point. And, when there’s something everyone needs, there’s a huge opportunity for investors. Healthcare stocks are shares of publicly traded companies that provide healthcare products or services.

About $9.8 trillion is spent on healthcare globally. Half of that amount -- around $4.9 trillion -- is spent in the U.S. With the healthcare sector growing significantly faster than the overall economy, the numbers will almost certainly be much larger by the end of the decade.

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A graphic showing the four types of healthcare stocks: drug, medical device, payer, and healthcare provider stocks. — Image source: The Motley Fool.

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Ticker Information Table
Name and ticker	Market cap	Dividend yield	Industry
Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX)	$108.0 billion	0.00%	Biotechnology
Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ:ISRG)	$193.7 billion	0.00%	Healthcare Equipment and Supplies
TransMedics Group (NASDAQ:TMDX)	$4.4 billion	0.00%	Healthcare Equipment and Supplies
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH)	$328.3 billion	2.38%	Healthcare Providers and Services
HCA Healthcare (NYSE:HCA)	$104.6 billion	0.63%	Healthcare Providers and Services
Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH)	$38.5 billion	1.26%	Healthcare Providers and Services

Data as of Oct 27, 2025.

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NASDAQ: VRTX

Vertex Pharmaceuticals

Today's Change

(-0.29%) $-1.22

Current Price

$420.17

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$108B

Day's Range

$418.76 - $423.61

52wk Range

$362.50 - $519.88

Volume

1.3M

Avg Vol

1.8M

Gross Margin

86.08%

Dividend Yield

N/A

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Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX -0.29%) stands out as one of the top biotech stocks on the market. The company primarily focuses on developing drugs that treat the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis (CF), a rare genetic disease that damages the lungs and other organs. Vertex has also expanded beyond CF with gene-editing therapy Casgevy (a one-time treatment for the rare blood disorders sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia) and acute pain therapy Journavx.

2. Intuitive Surgical

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NASDAQ: ISRG

Intuitive Surgical

Today's Change

(0.87%) $4.74

Current Price

$551.25

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$194B

Day's Range

$538.75 - $551.63

52wk Range

$425.00 - $616.00

Volume

2.1M

Avg Vol

2.4M

Gross Margin

66.37%

Dividend Yield

N/A

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Intuitive Surgical (ISRG +0.87%) is a great example of a medical device stock that also falls into the category of surgical stocks. The company’s Da Vinci robotic surgical system has been used in more than 17.6 million procedures since its 1999 introduction. Intuitive Surgical also markets Ion, a robotic system for minimally invasive peripheral lung biopsy. Over the long run, the company should have tremendous growth opportunities ahead with an aging population requiring the types of surgical procedures for which Da Vinci is frequently used.

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3. TransMedics Group

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NASDAQ: TMDX

TransMedics Group

Today's Change

(1.48%) $1.93

Current Price

$132.45

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$4B

Day's Range

$131.01 - $133.55

52wk Range

$55.00 - $145.50

Volume

649K

Avg Vol

Gross Margin

59.74%

Dividend Yield

N/A

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NYSE: UNH

UnitedHealth Group

Today's Change

(0.96%) $3.48

Current Price

$365.98

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$328B

Day's Range

$361.40 - $366.20

52wk Range

$234.60 - $630.73

Volume

397K

Avg Vol

15M

Gross Margin

0.00%

Dividend Yield

0.02%

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UnitedHealth Group (UNH +0.96%) ranks as the largest commercial health insurer in the U.S. It also operates one of the biggest PBMs and is a leader in healthcare delivery services. The company’s size, stability, and dividend make UnitedHealth Group one of the most attractive payer stocks on the market. UnitedHealth Group has also expanded its presence in the healthcare provider market with its 2023 acquisition of home health services provider LHC Group.

5. HCA Healthcare

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NYSE: HCA

HCA Healthcare

Today's Change

(4.82%) $21.53

Current Price

$468.57

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$105B

Day's Range

$449.44 - $469.18

52wk Range

$289.98 - $469.18

Volume

92K

Avg Vol

1.3M

Gross Margin

15.64%

Dividend Yield

0.01%

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HCA Healthcare (HCA +4.82%) owns and operates 191 hospitals and around 2,500 outpatient facilities, including surgery centers, physician clinics, freestanding emergency rooms, and urgent care centers. It's the largest health system operator in the U.S. HCA also operates healthcare facilities in the United Kingdom. The company continues to grow, in large part, by making acquisitions.

6. Cardinal Health

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NYSE: CAH

Cardinal Health

Today's Change

(1.18%) $1.91

Current Price

$163.80

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$38B

Day's Range

$161.35 - $163.82

52wk Range

$106.98 - $168.44

Volume

1.8M

Avg Vol

2.3M

Gross Margin

3.57%

Dividend Yield

0.01%

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Cardinal Health (CAH +1.18%) distributes branded and generic pharmaceuticals, medical and laboratory products, and supply chain services to healthcare providers. The company serves over 90% of U.S. hospitals and operates in more than 30 countries.

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Your dollars and mine, our capital, is helping shape the world.
David Gardner, co-founder, The Motley Fool

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3. Valuation

Determine the value of a healthcare stock before buying to make sure you're paying a fair price.
The price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is the most popular valuation metric. It measures the price of a stock in relation to its earnings per share, or what you get in earnings for every dollar you invest.
Forward P/E ratios, which use earnings estimates for one year into the future, can be more helpful in assessing the valuation of fast-growing healthcare stocks. Comparing P/E ratios with other stocks in the same industry will help you determine if the stock is relatively cheap or relatively expensive.
Take growth prospects into consideration by checking out the stock’s price-to-earnings-to-growth (PEG) ratio, which incorporates projected earnings growth rates (typically over five years). Stocks with lower PEG ratios (especially when the ratios are less than 1) are more attractively valued than those with higher PEG ratios.

4. Dividends

Some of the best healthcare stocks pay dividends -- a portion of earnings that the company returns to shareholders. Dividends can boost the overall return you receive from owning a stock.
The dividend yield tells you how large a stock’s annual dividend payments are as a percentage of the current share price.
Consider the stock’s payout ratio, which measures dividends as a percentage of earnings and indicates how much of the company’s cash is being used to cover the dividend. The lower the payout ratio, the greater the likelihood that the company will be able to keep paying dividends in the future.

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Healthcare stocks should have healthy returns

Despite these risks, the overall outlook for healthcare stocks appears very good over the long term. Aging demographic trends around the world, combined with advances in technology, should open up tremendous opportunities for healthcare stocks -- and provide healthy returns for patient investors.

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About the Author

Keith Speights is a contributing Motley Fool healthcare analyst covering publicly traded companies across pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, technology, and marijuana. Prior to The Motley Fool, Keith was CEO of Constant Care Technology, a healthcare technology company; vice president of American HealthTech, a healthcare software company; and a director of operations for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi, a health insurer. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Mississippi State University.

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Keith Speights has positions in Intuitive Surgical and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Intuitive Surgical, TransMedics Group, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool recommends HCA Healthcare and UnitedHealth Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.