3 Healthcare Stocks in Hot Water
Investors should tread carefully as the influx of venture capital has also ushered in a new wave of competition. Keeping that in mind, here are three healthcare stocks we're swiping left on.
Market Cap: $12.17 billion
With a network spanning 39 states and three countries, Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) operates acute care hospitals and behavioral health facilities across the United States, United Kingdom, and Puerto Rico.
Why Are We Hesitant About UHS?
Poor comparable store sales performance over the past two years indicates it's having trouble bringing new patients into its facilities
Expenses have increased as a percentage of revenue over the last five years as its adjusted operating margin fell by 1.2 percentage points
Free cash flow margin shrank by 3.1 percentage points over the last five years, suggesting the company is consuming more capital to stay competitive
Universal Health Services's stock price of $188.81 implies a valuation ratio of 9.5x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than UHS.
Market Cap: $512.5 million
With roots dating back to 1882 and operations spanning approximately 80 countries, Owens & Minor (NYSE:OMI) is a healthcare solutions company that manufactures medical supplies, distributes products to healthcare providers, and delivers medical equipment directly to patients.
Why Does OMI Give Us Pause?
Scale is a double-edged sword because it limits the company's growth potential compared to its smaller competitors, as reflected in its below-average annual revenue increases of 3.2% for the last two years
Underwhelming 3.8% return on capital reflects management's difficulties in finding profitable growth opportunities, and its falling returns suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up
Diminishing returns on capital from an already low starting point show that neither management's prior nor current bets are going as planned
Owens & Minor is trading at $6.67 per share, or 3.7x forward P/E. If you're considering OMI for your portfolio, see our FREE research report to learn more.
Market Cap: $132.8 billion
With roots dating back to 1849 when two German immigrants opened a fine chemicals business in Brooklyn, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) is a global biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells medicines and vaccines for a wide range of diseases and conditions.
Why Are We Cautious About PFE?
Core business is underperforming as its organic revenue has disappointed over the past two years, suggesting it might need acquisitions to stimulate growth
Free cash flow margin shrank by 8.9 percentage points over the last five years, suggesting the company is consuming more capital to stay competitive
Diminishing returns on capital suggest its earlier profit pools are drying up
At $23.40 per share, Pfizer trades at 7.8x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with PFE, check out our full research report (it's free).
Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs.
While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025).
Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Exlservice (+354% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Media Stocks Q1 Teardown: The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) Vs The Rest
As the Q1 earnings season comes to a close, it's time to take stock of this quarter's best and worst performers in the media industry, including The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) and its peers. The advent of the internet changed how shows, films, music, and overall information flow. As a result, many media companies now face secular headwinds as attention shifts online. Some have made concerted efforts to adapt by introducing digital subscriptions, podcasts, and streaming platforms. Time will tell if their strategies succeed and which companies will emerge as the long-term winners. The 7 media stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q1. As a group, revenues missed analysts' consensus estimates by 5.3%. Luckily, media stocks have performed well with share prices up 16.7% on average since the latest earnings results. Founded in 1851, The New York Times (NYSE:NYT) is an American media organization known for its influential newspaper and expansive digital journalism platforms. The New York Times reported revenues of $635.9 million, up 7.1% year on year. This print was in line with analysts' expectations, and overall, it was a strong quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts' EPS estimates and a decent beat of analysts' adjusted operating income estimates. The New York Times achieved the fastest revenue growth of the whole group. Unsurprisingly, the stock is up 8.4% since reporting and currently trades at $57.12. Is now the time to buy The New York Times? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free. Founded by brothers Walt and Roy, Disney (NYSE:DIS) is a multinational entertainment conglomerate, renowned for its theme parks, movies, television networks, and merchandise. Disney reported revenues of $23.62 billion, up 7% year on year, outperforming analysts' expectations by 2%. The business had a very strong quarter with an impressive beat of analysts' adjusted operating income estimates and a solid beat of analysts' EPS estimates. Disney delivered the biggest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 34.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $124. Is now the time to buy Disney? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free. Launching the careers of legendary artists like Frank Sinatra, Warner Music Group (NASDAQ:WMG) is a music company managing a diverse portfolio of artists, recordings, and music publishing services worldwide. Warner Music Group reported revenues of $1.48 billion, flat year on year, falling short of analysts' expectations by 2.2%. It was a softer quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts' EPS estimates and a miss of analysts' Recorded Music revenue estimates. As expected, the stock is down 2.2% since the results and currently trades at $29.43. Read our full analysis of Warner Music Group's results here. Originally launched as a soccer streaming platform, fuboTV (NYSE:FUBO) is a video streaming service specializing in live sports, news, and entertainment content. fuboTV reported revenues of $416.3 million, up 3.5% year on year. This print lagged analysts' expectations by 28.7%. Taking a step back, it was still a very strong quarter as it produced an impressive beat of analysts' EPS estimates and a solid beat of analysts' EBITDA estimates. fuboTV had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among its peers. The stock is up 27% since reporting and currently trades at $3.69. Read our full, actionable report on fuboTV here, it's free. Creator of the legendary Scholastic Book Fair, Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL) is an international company specializing in children's publishing, education, and media services. Scholastic reported revenues of $335.4 million, up 3.6% year on year. This result came in 3.5% below analysts' expectations. Aside from that, it was a mixed quarter as it also logged a solid beat of analysts' EPS estimates but full-year EBITDA guidance missing analysts' expectations. The stock is up 15.2% since reporting and currently trades at $21.63. Read our full, actionable report on Scholastic here, it's free. The Fed's interest rate hikes throughout 2022 and 2023 have successfully cooled post-pandemic inflation, bringing it closer to the 2% target. Inflationary pressures have eased without tipping the economy into a recession, suggesting a soft landing. This stability, paired with recent rate cuts (0.5% in September 2024 and 0.25% in November 2024), fueled a strong year for the stock market in 2024. The markets surged further after Donald Trump's presidential victory in November, with major indices reaching record highs in the days following the election. Still, questions remain about the direction of economic policy, as potential tariffs and corporate tax changes add uncertainty for 2025. Want to invest in winners with rock-solid fundamentals? Check out our Hidden Gem Stocks and add them to your watchlist. These companies are poised for growth regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
What to Expect From Universal Health Services' Next Quarterly Earnings Report
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) owns and operates acute care hospitals, and outpatient and behavioral health care facilities. Valued at a market cap of $12 billion, the company's range of services include general and specialty surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, emergency room care, radiology, oncology, diagnostic care, coronary care, pediatric services, pharmacy services, and behavioral health services. It is expected to announce its fiscal Q2 earnings for 2025 on Wednesday, Jul. 23. Prior to this event, analysts project this healthcare company to report a profit of $4.87 per share, up 13% from $4.31 per share in the year-ago quarter. The company has exceeded Wall Street's bottom-line estimates in three of the last four quarters, while missing on another occasion. Its earnings of $4.84 per share in the previous quarter outpaced the consensus estimates by 11%. Is UnitedHealth Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold for July 2025? Michael Saylor Says 'You'll Wish You'd Bought More' Bitcoin as MicroStrategy Doubles Down Is Microsoft Stock About to Go Nuclear? Stop Missing Market Moves: Get the FREE Barchart Brief – your midday dose of stock movers, trending sectors, and actionable trade ideas, delivered right to your inbox. Sign Up Now! For the full year, analysts expect UHS to report EPS of $19.43, up 17% from $16.61 in fiscal 2024. Furthermore, its EPS is expected to grow 8.9% year-over-year to $21.16 in fiscal 2026. UHS has declined marginally over the past 52 weeks, lagging behind the S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 13% return over the same time frame. However, it has outpaced the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund's (XLV) 6.3% downtick over the same time period. On Apr. 28, UHS released its Q1 results, and its shares closed down marginally in the following trading session. The company's overall revenue improved 6.7% year-over-year to $4.1 billion but fell short of the consensus estimates by nearly 1%. Meanwhile, on the earnings front, due to favorable pricing and margin improvement, the company's adjusted EPS surged 30.8% year-over-year to $4.84 and surpassed the analyst estimates by 11%. Wall Street analysts are moderately optimistic about UHS' stock, with a "Moderate Buy" rating overall. Among 19 analysts covering the stock, eight recommend "Strong Buy," and 11 advise 'Hold.' The mean price target for UHS is $226.19, which indicates a 22.6% potential upside from the current levels. On the date of publication, Neharika Jain did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Telecom stocks help lift S&P/TSX composite in late-morning trading
TORONTO - Canada's main stock index was up in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the telecom sector. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 30.30 points at 27,064.56. The move on the Toronto market came with U.S. markets closed for the Fourth of July holiday. The Canadian dollar traded for 73.48 cents US compared with 73.66 cents US on Thursday. The August crude oil contract was down 44 cents US at US$66.56 per barrel. The August gold contract was up 40 cents US at US$3,343.30 an ounce. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 4, 2025. Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
