The healthcare industry has attracted much attention amid the COVID-19 pandemic and is expected to remain a focus of investors in the near-term given the fairly inelastic demand for its products and services. Furthermore, continued innovations in the treatment of critical diseases and an aging population should help many healthcare companies generate solid growth. So, we think it could be wise to add the following fundamentally strong healthcare stocks to one's portfolio: Bristol-Myers (BMY) and Agilent (A). Read on.The healthcare industry has received a great deal of attention in recent months thanks to the role it played so far in fighting COVID-19. While the pandemic is under control in most major economies, investors’ focus on the industry is not expected to decline anytime soon given the relatively inelastic demand for healthcare products and services, an aging population and the continued efforts of several companies to find cures or treatments for critical diseases.
Investors’ interest in the healthcare sector is evident in the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund’s (XLV) and iShares Global Healthcare ETF’s (IXJ) 12.3% and 10.6% returns, respectively, over the past six months. Adding to the positives, in his recently unveiled fiscal 2022 budget proposal, President Biden requested $133.7 billion for the department of Health & Human Services (HHS) budget, which represents a 23% increase beyond this year’s budget.
Given this backdrop, we think it could be wise to bet on Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) and Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) because their consistent product innovations and solid financials should help them deliver solid upside in the near term.