What Are the Best Healthcare Stocks to Buy Now? I Think It's Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) -- or, to Play It Safer, Medtronic (MDT)

• Intuitive Surgical is the 800-pound gorilla successful the robotic country space.

• Medtronic is entering the tract and pays a coagulated dividend, too.

• One of these companies has a overmuch much appealing valuation.

• 10 stocks we similar amended than Intuitive Surgical ›

Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG) Intuitive Surgical is the person successful robotic country equipment. It has much than 9,900 of its million-dollar-plus da Vinci robotic country systems installed successful 72 countries. Together, they've been utilized to execute much than 16 cardinal procedures.

What's appealing astir the aesculapian instrumentality elephantine is that lone astir a 4th of its gross comes from selling its highly costly systems. The remainder is from servicing and supplies -- and is dependable, recurring revenue.

Given Intuitive Surgical's concern opportunities, it whitethorn not beryllium astonishing that its banal is alternatively richly valued, with a caller forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 59, supra its five-year mean of 56. (Both those numbers are rather steep -- but that's mostly due to the fact that the institution has been specified an awesome maturation stock.) Also, shares popped up by 23% past month, connected a bully net report.

I emotion Intuitive Surgical arsenic an charismatic healthcare stock. But I can't contradict that it's not precisely bargain-priced these days. You should lone bargain into it if you program to clasp for years, if not decades.

So I invitation you to cheque retired Medtronic (NYSE: MDT), which is making inroads into robotic country -- and has a much inviting valuation. Its caller guardant P/E, for example, was conscionable 18, lone a smidge supra its five-year mean of 17.

Medtronic focuses connected its higher-margin operations, shedding its little profitable diabetes division. It's besides a coagulated dividend-paying stock, with a caller dividend output of 2.8%.

The institution reported a coagulated 4th ending connected Oct. 24, the 2nd of its fiscal twelvemonth 2026. On the net call, CEO Geoffrey Martha said:

"[B]ecause of our organization's relentless focus, that acceleration is so underway. ... Both our gross and EPS [earnings per share] bushed expectations. Looking crossed our business, process volumes and extremity markets are robust ... arsenic we motorboat innovative technologies and execute up of program successful immoderate of the astir charismatic and fast-growing extremity markets successful medtech."

Depending connected however overmuch valuation hazard you tin handle, you mightiness privation to excavation deeper into either oregon some of these companies.

Before you bargain banal successful Intuitive Surgical, see this: