ISRG - 3 Healthcare Stocks With Sustainable Competitive Advantages
For much of the past three months, Wall Street has been taken on a once-in-a-lifetime ride. Panic surrounding the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) wound up pushing the benchmark S&P 500 down as much as 34% in just over a month. Although the market fiercely bounced back in the weeks that followed, the CBOE Volatility Index remains highly elevated from its historic average, and little certainty still exists with regard to a timeline of when business activity will return to normal.
Yet, one sector that's emerged from the coronavirus pandemic relatively unscathed is healthcare. Though there will be pockets of industries that could be strained by COVID-19, such as hospitals and insurers, the bulk of healthcare stocks have been well insulated. That's because people don't get to choose when they get sick or what ailment(s) they'll develop, creating a steady stream of potential cash flow for healthcare companies up and down the supply chain, regardless of how well or poorly the economy is performing.
Of course, no two healthcare companies are created equally. In an ideal scenario, investors want to buy into businesses that offer sustainable competitive advantages for a long time to come. I believe that's exactly what you're going to get with the following three healthcare stocks.