Why this is perfect time to buy health-care stocks, one financial advisor says

Published Tue, Apr 23 202412:04 PM EDTUpdated Tue, Apr 23 202412:19 PM EDT

Health care shouldn't be overlooked as a place to buy amid the current market turmoil, according to Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group. The broader market has pulled back in recent weeks as investors grow cautious that the Federal Reserve will not cut interest rates as early, or by as much, as they had hoped. Cox said traders can pick up good companies at low prices in this environment, while others sell without rhyme or reason. He's been particularly interested in health care — pharma more specifically — as the industry feels tailwinds from artificial intelligence and the weight-loss drug boom. "The amount of money that the health care industry is making is being completely ignored by investors," Cox told CNBC Pro. "That's where we've been positioning more and more into." While the performance of some stocks is considered to be connected to the path of interest rates, Cox framed health care as a play that is largely unrelated to that story. That can make the current downtrend a good time to snap up these names, he said, as they unfairly take a leg down along with the broader market. "The back-and-forth on interest rates is not where the money is made," he said. "The noise of the short-term back-and-forth ... gives you good opportunity to buy high-quality companies, while people are just selling indiscriminately." Where to buy Pharma is a particularly strong space right now given the blockbuster weight-loss drugs, Cox said. He added that the sector could be entering a time like the 1990s, when there were big leaps in drug delivery innovation/. In particular, he pointed to Novo Nordisk and Novartis as good investment ideas. On the other hand, Cox said he doesn't like Pfizer as much. U.S.-listed shares of both of his picks have diverged this year. Demark-based Novo has slid more than 2% this month but is still up by more than 20% in 2024. While Novartis has shed about 1% in the month, the Swiss company has underperformed the broad market on the year, sliding more than 5%. NVO NVS YTD mountain Novo Nordisk vs. Novartis, year to date Analysts' price targets reflect optimism on both names. The average analyst polled by FactSet has a buy rating on Novo and a target implying shares can climb almost 8% higher. Though the typical analyst has a hold rating on Novartis, the expected price reflects a rebound of more than 14%. "Pharma companies are the ones that are making the most, have the highest profit potential," said Cox. That's despite the fact that they're considered to be "boring" and "safety, dividend play stocks." By comparison, Pfizer has performed worse than the other two this year. The stock has lost more than 5% this month, and is now on track to finish 2024 nearly 9% in the red. But Wall Street also sees a rebound ahead. The average analyst anticipates shares jumping almost 19% over the next year — while also having a hold rating. For more diversified exposure, Cox recommended the Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) . The fund, which includes stocks such as Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly , has tumbled more than 5% in April, bringing its 2024 gain to just above 1%.