Latest news with #JordanStuart
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (TEVA): Among Small-Cap Healthcare Stocks Hedge Funds Are Buying
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE:TEVA) stands against other small-cap healthcare stocks hedge funds are buying. The U.S. healthcare sector has performed better in 2025 compared to the broader market. After two years of weak performance, the healthcare sector kicked off on a strong note in 2025. In a letter from Federated Hermes, within the S&P 500, the healthcare sector soared nearly 2.59% as of April 30. Whereas the Information Technology sector reported an 11.24% loss, the Consumer Discretionary sector was down 14.08%, and the S&P 500 recorded a 4.92% decline as a whole. READ ALSO: Why These 15 Healthcare Stocks Are Surging in 2025 As inflation eases, things will be better economically for the healthcare sector. The Investment Director of Federated Hermes, Jordan Stuart, mentioned that when inflation has eased historically, healthcare stocks have performed better. Stuart added: 'Typically, healthcare stocks underperform when inflation is high due to increased costs and pricing pressures. However, inflation has, ever so slowly, begun to decline again, and optimism around rate cuts has resurfaced, giving life back to healthcare stocks. This shift in economic conditions will likely enhance the attractiveness of health care investments, as lower inflation and interest rates create a more favourable environment for growth and profitability.' According to BlackRock, an average of 75% of healthcare companies exceeded earnings expectations in the first three quarters of 2024. This led to an improved local investor sentiment, with nearly $80 million of inflows to the iShares Global Healthcare ETF (IXJ) in 2024. BlackRock expects the 2025 projected earnings in the healthcare sector to rebound even further, recording the highest year-over-year growth in 18 years, excluding the COVID-19 period. The U.S. healthcare sector now accounts for a fifth of the U.S. economy. With digital transformation, non-acute care shifts, and innovation in biosimilars and speciality drugs, the healthcare sector remains poised for growth in 2025. According to SNS Insider Research, the healthcare market is expected to reach $44.76 trillion in 2032 from $21.22 trillion reported in 2023. This marks a CAGR of 9.07% between 2024 and 2032. North America accounts for almost 44% of the global healthcare market share. Trump's tariffs remain a major hurdle for healthcare, and they may threaten around a 10-15% cost increase for drugs and medical devices, as per Forbes. According to the Medical Device Network, around 69% of the U.S.-marketed medical devices are manufactured outside of the U.S. David Risinger from Leerink Partners highlighted that potential tariffs would likely drive the U.S. drug prices, even though the companies moved their production to the U.S. Reducing costs with domestic production could take years, added Risinger. Reportedly, President Trump is expected to sign an executive order to slash U.S. prescription drug prices. The President plans to match drug prices overseas and control the price hike anticipated by analysts. Lately, the U.S. government has been striving to make trade deals with its partners. After talks between the U.S. and China, both countries have decided to slash tariffs for 90 days, with duties set to drop by 115 percentage points. This move will drop American tariffs on Chinese goods to as low as 30%, and China's retaliatory duties will go down from 125% to 10%. To compile the list of the 15 small-cap healthcare stocks hedge funds are buying, we used the Finviz screener to shortlist healthcare stocks that are trading at a market cap of at least $10 billion. For this article, we are defining small-cap stocks as those that trade between $10 billion and $20 billion. We have ranked the stocks in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders. Data for the number of hedge fund investors for each stock was taken from Insider Monkey's database, updated as of Q4 2024. In cases where two or more stocks were held by an equal number of hedge funds, we used the upside potential as a tiebreaker. The analysts' upside potential data is taken from CNN. Please note that the data was collected on May 13, 2025. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds and billionaire investors pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here). A close-up shot of various types of medicines on a table, illustrating the specialty and generic products offered by the pharmaceutical company. No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 72 Market Capitalization: $20.02 Billion Analyst Upside: 31.62% Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE:TEVA) is a global pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures, distributes, and markets generic and other medicines, and biopharmaceutical products. The company operates through three segments, including North America, Europe, and International Markets. On May 12, JPMorgan increased its rating on TEVA from Neutral to Overweight and raised the price target from $21 to $23, highlighting Teva's announcement of a $700 million cost-cutting initiative. According to JPMorgan, this latest initiative will significantly contribute to the company's margin expansion goals for 2026 and 2027. This program is expected to improve Teva's financial performance and reach a 30% operating margin target by 2027. This move will allow the company to overcome the challenges of low revenues from its drug gRevlimid and reinvest in the product pipeline. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE:TEVA) posted mixed financial results in Q1 2025. The revenue came in at $3.89 billion, missing estimates by $97.39 million. The adjusted earnings were around $0.52, exceeding estimates by $0.06. The analysts expect the company to post revenue of around $4 billion in Q2, reflecting a 3% year-over-year growth, driven by AUSTEDO and biosimilars. However, tariffs and a drop in COPAXONE sales pose risks. Sound Shore Management stated the following regarding Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE:TEVA) in its Q4 2024 investor letter: 'Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE:TEVA): Traditionally known as a generic drug company, Teva has a growing branded drug business and a promising pipeline. Following a period of poor capital allocation decisions by prior management teams, we were able to invest at a very attractive 4 times earnings and with a 20%+ free cash flow yield. New leadership has focused on execution and pipeline development, leading to upward inflection in margins and positive clinical trial results. Teva remains remarkably cheap, trading at a significant discount to its intrinsic value. (Please see our 2Q 2024 letter for a more in-depth review of Teva.)' Overall, TEVA ranks 2nd on our list of small-cap healthcare stocks hedge funds are buying. While we acknowledge the potential of TEVA to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that has gone up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks have lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than TEVA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at . Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Molina Healthcare, Inc. (MOH): Among Small-Cap Healthcare Stocks Hedge Funds Are Buying
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) stands against other small-cap healthcare stocks hedge funds are buying. The U.S. healthcare sector has performed better in 2025 compared to the broader market. After two years of weak performance, the healthcare sector kicked off on a strong note in 2025. In a letter from Federated Hermes, within the S&P 500, the healthcare sector soared nearly 2.59% as of April 30. Whereas the Information Technology sector reported an 11.24% loss, the Consumer Discretionary sector was down 14.08%, and the S&P 500 recorded a 4.92% decline as a whole. READ ALSO: Why These 15 Healthcare Stocks Are Surging in 2025 As inflation eases, things will be better economically for the healthcare sector. The Investment Director of Federated Hermes, Jordan Stuart, mentioned that when inflation has eased historically, healthcare stocks have performed better. Stuart added: 'Typically, healthcare stocks underperform when inflation is high due to increased costs and pricing pressures. However, inflation has, ever so slowly, begun to decline again, and optimism around rate cuts has resurfaced, giving life back to healthcare stocks. This shift in economic conditions will likely enhance the attractiveness of health care investments, as lower inflation and interest rates create a more favourable environment for growth and profitability.' According to BlackRock, an average of 75% of healthcare companies exceeded earnings expectations in the first three quarters of 2024. This led to an improved local investor sentiment, with nearly $80 million of inflows to the iShares Global Healthcare ETF (IXJ) in 2024. BlackRock expects the 2025 projected earnings in the healthcare sector to rebound even further, recording the highest year-over-year growth in 18 years, excluding the COVID-19 period. The U.S. healthcare sector now accounts for a fifth of the U.S. economy. With digital transformation, non-acute care shifts, and innovation in biosimilars and speciality drugs, the healthcare sector remains poised for growth in 2025. According to SNS Insider Research, the healthcare market is expected to reach $44.76 trillion in 2032 from $21.22 trillion reported in 2023. This marks a CAGR of 9.07% between 2024 and 2032. North America accounts for almost 44% of the global healthcare market share. Trump's tariffs remain a major hurdle for healthcare, and they may threaten around a 10-15% cost increase for drugs and medical devices, as per Forbes. According to the Medical Device Network, around 69% of the U.S.-marketed medical devices are manufactured outside of the U.S. David Risinger from Leerink Partners highlighted that potential tariffs would likely drive the U.S. drug prices, even though the companies moved their production to the U.S. Reducing costs with domestic production could take years, added Risinger. Reportedly, President Trump is expected to sign an executive order to slash U.S. prescription drug prices. The President plans to match drug prices overseas and control the price hike anticipated by analysts. Lately, the U.S. government has been striving to make trade deals with its partners. After talks between the U.S. and China, both countries have decided to slash tariffs for 90 days, with duties set to drop by 115 percentage points. This move will drop American tariffs on Chinese goods to as low as 30%, and China's retaliatory duties will go down from 125% to 10%. To compile the list of the 15 small-cap healthcare stocks hedge funds are buying, we used the Finviz screener to shortlist healthcare stocks that are trading at a market cap of at least $10 billion. For this article, we are defining small-cap stocks as those that trade between $10 billion and $20 billion. We have ranked the stocks in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders. Data for the number of hedge fund investors for each stock was taken from Insider Monkey's database, updated as of Q4 2024. In cases where two or more stocks were held by an equal number of hedge funds, we used the upside potential as a tiebreaker. The analysts' upside potential data is taken from CNN. Please note that the data was collected on May 13, 2025. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds and billionaire investors pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here). A doctor in scrubs shaking hands with a patient, representing the healthcare services provided to individuals and families. No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 48 Market Capitalization: $16.87 Billion Analyst Upside: 17.23% Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) is a Fortune-500 healthcare services company operating under the Medicaid and Medicare programs. The company also engages through the state insurance marketplaces. Serving over 5.8 million customers across the U.S., Molina operates through four segments, including Medicaid, Medicare, Marketplace, and Other. Molina Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:MOH) posted strong results during the first quarter of 2025. The company reported a total revenue of $11.15 billion, beating estimates by $333.22 million. The adjusted earnings came in at $6.08 per share, surpassing estimates by $0.12. This growth was fueled by new contract wins, rate increases, and acquisitions. Molina's medical care ratio was reported at around 89.2%, representing robust medical cost management. At the same time, the general and administrative expense ratio improved, with a 6.8% reduction. The company has reaffirmed its full-year 2025 guidance, with premium revenue projected to reach nearly $42 billion, reflecting a 9% increase from 2024. The adjusted EPS is expected to be around $24.50, indicating 8% growth. On April 9, Ann Hynes from Mizuho increased the price target on MOH from $376 to $400, maintaining an Outperform rating on the shares. The analyst remains optimistic following a survey that suggests higher inpatient and outpatient growth trends during Q1. Overall, MOH ranks 13th on our list of small-cap healthcare stocks hedge funds are buying. While we acknowledge the potential of MOH to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that has gone up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks have lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MOH but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at . 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
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS): Among Small-Cap Healthcare Stocks Hedge Funds Are Buying
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) stands against other small-cap healthcare stocks hedge funds are buying. The U.S. healthcare sector has performed better in 2025 compared to the broader market. After two years of weak performance, the healthcare sector kicked off on a strong note in 2025. In a letter from Federated Hermes, within the S&P 500, the healthcare sector soared nearly 2.59% as of April 30. Whereas the Information Technology sector reported an 11.24% loss, the Consumer Discretionary sector was down 14.08%, and the S&P 500 recorded a 4.92% decline as a whole. READ ALSO: Why These 15 Healthcare Stocks Are Surging in 2025 As inflation eases, things will be better economically for the healthcare sector. The Investment Director of Federated Hermes, Jordan Stuart, mentioned that when inflation has eased historically, healthcare stocks have performed better. Stuart added: 'Typically, healthcare stocks underperform when inflation is high due to increased costs and pricing pressures. However, inflation has, ever so slowly, begun to decline again, and optimism around rate cuts has resurfaced, giving life back to healthcare stocks. This shift in economic conditions will likely enhance the attractiveness of health care investments, as lower inflation and interest rates create a more favourable environment for growth and profitability.' According to BlackRock, an average of 75% of healthcare companies exceeded earnings expectations in the first three quarters of 2024. This led to an improved local investor sentiment, with nearly $80 million of inflows to the iShares Global Healthcare ETF (IXJ) in 2024. BlackRock expects the 2025 projected earnings in the healthcare sector to rebound even further, recording the highest year-over-year growth in 18 years, excluding the COVID-19 period. The U.S. healthcare sector now accounts for a fifth of the U.S. economy. With digital transformation, non-acute care shifts, and innovation in biosimilars and speciality drugs, the healthcare sector remains poised for growth in 2025. According to SNS Insider Research, the healthcare market is expected to reach $44.76 trillion in 2032 from $21.22 trillion reported in 2023. This marks a CAGR of 9.07% between 2024 and 2032. North America accounts for almost 44% of the global healthcare market share. Trump's tariffs remain a major hurdle for healthcare, and they may threaten around a 10-15% cost increase for drugs and medical devices, as per Forbes. According to the Medical Device Network, around 69% of the U.S.-marketed medical devices are manufactured outside of the U.S. David Risinger from Leerink Partners highlighted that potential tariffs would likely drive the U.S. drug prices, even though the companies moved their production to the U.S. Reducing costs with domestic production could take years, added Risinger. Reportedly, President Trump is expected to sign an executive order to slash U.S. prescription drug prices. The President plans to match drug prices overseas and control the price hike anticipated by analysts. Lately, the U.S. government has been striving to make trade deals with its partners. After talks between the U.S. and China, both countries have decided to slash tariffs for 90 days, with duties set to drop by 115 percentage points. This move will drop American tariffs on Chinese goods to as low as 30%, and China's retaliatory duties will go down from 125% to 10%. To compile the list of the 15 small-cap healthcare stocks hedge funds are buying, we used the Finviz screener to shortlist healthcare stocks that are trading at a market cap of at least $10 billion. For this article, we are defining small-cap stocks as those that trade between $10 billion and $20 billion. We have ranked the stocks in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders. Data for the number of hedge fund investors for each stock was taken from Insider Monkey's database, updated as of Q4 2024. In cases where two or more stocks were held by an equal number of hedge funds, we used the upside potential as a tiebreaker. The analysts' upside potential data is taken from CNN. Please note that the data was collected on May 13, 2025. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds and billionaire investors pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here). A doctor speaking with a patient in a hospital bed in an exam room. No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 49 Market Capitalization: $12.56 Billion Analyst Upside: 14.10% Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) is a holding company that operates through its subsidiaries and its management company. The company owns and operates acute care hospitals, outpatient facilities, and behavioural healthcare facilities. The company's segments include acute care hospital services, behavioural health care services, and Others. Universal Health Services has over 359 inpatient facilities, and 60 outpatient and other facilities in the U.S., the U.K., and Puerto Rico. Universal Health Services, Inc. (NYSE:UHS) recently reported its first-quarter earnings and revenue. The company posted $4.10 billion in revenues, up by 6.70% year-over-year and slightly missing the estimates. The company posted adjusted earnings of $4.84, surpassing estimates by $0.49 per share. Same facility net revenues in the acute care hospital segment soared over 5% year-over-year. UHS saw a 21% rise in EBITDA from a year ago, excluding Medicaid supplement payments. Moreover, West Henderson Hospital in Las Vegas opened in late 2024, adding to the EBITDA in Q1. Recently, Jason Cassorla from Guggenheim initiated coverage of the stock with a Buy rating and a price target of $208. The analyst mentions UHS' position to benefit from its strong acute care hospital footprint, which is anticipated to lead to top-line growth compared to its competitors. Moreover, the growing demand for behavioural and mental health services is expected to be a positive driver for the company. Overall, UHS ranks 12th on our list of small-cap healthcare stocks hedge funds are buying. While we acknowledge the potential of UHS to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that has gone up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks have lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than UHS but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at . Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DaVita Inc. (DVA): Among Small-Cap Healthcare Stocks Hedge Funds Are Buying
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) stands against other small-cap healthcare stocks hedge funds are buying. The U.S. healthcare sector has performed better in 2025 compared to the broader market. After two years of weak performance, the healthcare sector kicked off on a strong note in 2025. In a letter from Federated Hermes, within the S&P 500, the healthcare sector soared nearly 2.59% as of April 30. Whereas the Information Technology sector reported an 11.24% loss, the Consumer Discretionary sector was down 14.08%, and the S&P 500 recorded a 4.92% decline as a whole. READ ALSO: Why These 15 Healthcare Stocks Are Surging in 2025 As inflation eases, things will be better economically for the healthcare sector. The Investment Director of Federated Hermes, Jordan Stuart, mentioned that when inflation has eased historically, healthcare stocks have performed better. Stuart added: 'Typically, healthcare stocks underperform when inflation is high due to increased costs and pricing pressures. However, inflation has, ever so slowly, begun to decline again, and optimism around rate cuts has resurfaced, giving life back to healthcare stocks. This shift in economic conditions will likely enhance the attractiveness of health care investments, as lower inflation and interest rates create a more favourable environment for growth and profitability.' According to BlackRock, an average of 75% of healthcare companies exceeded earnings expectations in the first three quarters of 2024. This led to an improved local investor sentiment, with nearly $80 million of inflows to the iShares Global Healthcare ETF (IXJ) in 2024. BlackRock expects the 2025 projected earnings in the healthcare sector to rebound even further, recording the highest year-over-year growth in 18 years, excluding the COVID-19 period. The U.S. healthcare sector now accounts for a fifth of the U.S. economy. With digital transformation, non-acute care shifts, and innovation in biosimilars and speciality drugs, the healthcare sector remains poised for growth in 2025. According to SNS Insider Research, the healthcare market is expected to reach $44.76 trillion in 2032 from $21.22 trillion reported in 2023. This marks a CAGR of 9.07% between 2024 and 2032. North America accounts for almost 44% of the global healthcare market share. Trump's tariffs remain a major hurdle for healthcare, and they may threaten around a 10-15% cost increase for drugs and medical devices, as per Forbes. According to the Medical Device Network, around 69% of the U.S.-marketed medical devices are manufactured outside of the U.S. David Risinger from Leerink Partners highlighted that potential tariffs would likely drive the U.S. drug prices, even though the companies moved their production to the U.S. Reducing costs with domestic production could take years, added Risinger. Reportedly, President Trump is expected to sign an executive order to slash U.S. prescription drug prices. The President plans to match drug prices overseas and control the price hike anticipated by analysts. Lately, the U.S. government has been striving to make trade deals with its partners. After talks between the U.S. and China, both countries have decided to slash tariffs for 90 days, with duties set to drop by 115 percentage points. This move will drop American tariffs on Chinese goods to as low as 30%, and China's retaliatory duties will go down from 125% to 10%. To compile the list of the 15 small-cap healthcare stocks hedge funds are buying, we used the Finviz screener to shortlist healthcare stocks that are trading at a market cap of at least $10 billion. For this article, we are defining small-cap stocks as those that trade between $10 billion and $20 billion. We have ranked the stocks in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders. Data for the number of hedge fund investors for each stock was taken from Insider Monkey's database, updated as of Q4 2024. In cases where two or more stocks were held by an equal number of hedge funds, we used the upside potential as a tiebreaker. The analysts' upside potential data is taken from CNN. Please note that the data was collected on May 13, 2025. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds and billionaire investors pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here). Clinical laboratory technicians running tests in the comprehensive kidney care services. No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 46 Market Capitalization: $10.99 Billion Analyst Upside: 18.36% DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) is a global healthcare company transforming its operations from solely a dialysis provider to offering more comprehensive kidney services. Along with kidney care services, DaVita has established nephrology and payor relationships. The company currently serves more than 281,000 patients. In 2024, DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) made notable progress with $12.8 billion in revenue and $2.1 billion in operating income, up by 5.6% and 30.4% year-over-year, respectively. The company is expected to benefit from continued strength in its revenue cycle operations during the first quarter of 2025. During Q4 2024, the company confirmed three of four acquisitions in Latin America, with the Brazil deal getting approved in April. The company is progressing in providing sustainable, integrated care through the Integrated Kidney Care business across the region. During Q1 2025, analysts at Wall Street expect DaVita Inc. (NYSE:DVA) to post revenue of around $3.22 billion, representing 5% growth year-over-year. The earnings are projected to reach $1.75, down by 26.5% from a year ago. The earnings might get hit by the closure of Baxter's North Cove facility due to Hurricane Helene and the related impact on home dialysis. This led to lower new admits during Q4, and the management expects this to negatively affect volume growth in 2025. Overall, DVA ranks 15th on our list of small-cap healthcare stocks hedge funds are buying. While we acknowledge the potential of DVA to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that has gone up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks have lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than DVA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at . 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
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
ICON Public Limited Company (ICLR): Among Small-Cap Healthcare Stocks Hedge Funds Are Buying
We recently published a list of . In this article, we are going to take a look at where ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) stands against other small-cap healthcare stocks hedge funds are buying. The U.S. healthcare sector has performed better in 2025 compared to the broader market. After two years of weak performance, the healthcare sector kicked off on a strong note in 2025. In a letter from Federated Hermes, within the S&P 500, the healthcare sector soared nearly 2.59% as of April 30. Whereas the Information Technology sector reported an 11.24% loss, the Consumer Discretionary sector was down 14.08%, and the S&P 500 recorded a 4.92% decline as a whole. READ ALSO: Why These 15 Healthcare Stocks Are Surging in 2025 As inflation eases, things will be better economically for the healthcare sector. The Investment Director of Federated Hermes, Jordan Stuart, mentioned that when inflation has eased historically, healthcare stocks have performed better. Stuart added: 'Typically, healthcare stocks underperform when inflation is high due to increased costs and pricing pressures. However, inflation has, ever so slowly, begun to decline again, and optimism around rate cuts has resurfaced, giving life back to healthcare stocks. This shift in economic conditions will likely enhance the attractiveness of health care investments, as lower inflation and interest rates create a more favourable environment for growth and profitability.' According to BlackRock, an average of 75% of healthcare companies exceeded earnings expectations in the first three quarters of 2024. This led to an improved local investor sentiment, with nearly $80 million of inflows to the iShares Global Healthcare ETF (IXJ) in 2024. BlackRock expects the 2025 projected earnings in the healthcare sector to rebound even further, recording the highest year-over-year growth in 18 years, excluding the COVID-19 period. The U.S. healthcare sector now accounts for a fifth of the U.S. economy. With digital transformation, non-acute care shifts, and innovation in biosimilars and speciality drugs, the healthcare sector remains poised for growth in 2025. According to SNS Insider Research, the healthcare market is expected to reach $44.76 trillion in 2032 from $21.22 trillion reported in 2023. This marks a CAGR of 9.07% between 2024 and 2032. North America accounts for almost 44% of the global healthcare market share. Trump's tariffs remain a major hurdle for healthcare, and they may threaten around a 10-15% cost increase for drugs and medical devices, as per Forbes. According to the Medical Device Network, around 69% of the U.S.-marketed medical devices are manufactured outside of the U.S. David Risinger from Leerink Partners highlighted that potential tariffs would likely drive the U.S. drug prices, even though the companies moved their production to the U.S. Reducing costs with domestic production could take years, added Risinger. Reportedly, President Trump is expected to sign an executive order to slash U.S. prescription drug prices. The President plans to match drug prices overseas and control the price hike anticipated by analysts. Lately, the U.S. government has been striving to make trade deals with its partners. After talks between the U.S. and China, both countries have decided to slash tariffs for 90 days, with duties set to drop by 115 percentage points. This move will drop American tariffs on Chinese goods to as low as 30%, and China's retaliatory duties will go down from 125% to 10%. To compile the list of the 15 small-cap healthcare stocks hedge funds are buying, we used the Finviz screener to shortlist healthcare stocks that are trading at a market cap of at least $10 billion. For this article, we are defining small-cap stocks as those that trade between $10 billion and $20 billion. We have ranked the stocks in ascending order of the number of hedge fund holders. Data for the number of hedge fund investors for each stock was taken from Insider Monkey's database, updated as of Q4 2024. In cases where two or more stocks were held by an equal number of hedge funds, we used the upside potential as a tiebreaker. The analysts' upside potential data is taken from CNN. Please note that the data was collected on May 13, 2025. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds and billionaire investors pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here). A laboratory setting with a team of scientists working on a clinical trial. No. of Hedge Fund Holders: 46 Market Capitalization: $11.03 Billion Analyst Upside: 33.74% ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR), a Contract Research Organization (CRO), is a healthcare intelligence and clinical research firm. The company offers services to pharmaceutical companies that need to conduct clinical trials. Drug companies outsource ICON's services instead of conducting complex and costly processes in-house. ICON manages everything from patient recruitment to regulatory compliance. ICON Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:ICLR) recently posted its Q4 results with its adjusted earnings around $3.19, beating estimates by $0.10 per share. The revenue came in at $2 billion, slightly short of the consensus estimate and a year-over-year decline of 4.6%. The company experienced high levels of cancellations in Q1, impacting overall bookings. However, on the positive side, the company posted a better-than-expected adjusted EBITDA margin of 19.5%, indicating effective cost control and resource allocation. ICON saw a major increase in overall opportunities in the Biotech segment, with a modest win rate of closing projects. The company's shift towards increased R&D spending, AI-driven drug discovery, and global diversification of trials reflects a structural growth opportunity. During Q1, the company launched two new AI-enabled tools, iSubmit and SmartDraft. These AI tools will improve operational efficiencies and accelerate clinical trials. In Q1, the company repurchased shares worth $250 million, highlighting its commitment to returning capital to shareholders. Overall, ICLR ranks 14th on our list of small-cap healthcare stocks hedge funds are buying. While we acknowledge the potential of ICLR to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that has gone up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks have lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than ICLR but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at . Sign in to access your portfolio