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11 top research stocks to buy in 2026

Ready to invest in the medical industry? Learn how to invest in research stocks in just a few steps.

The best research stocks depend on your portfolio and investment goals — while volatility can be ideal for day traders, long-term investors will want to look to stocks with steadier gains over time.

The top medical stocks included on this page all trade on the S&P 500, have an analyst recommendation of "Buy" or better and are sorted by year-to-date performance.

  1. Biocept (BIOC)
  2. Opko Health (OPK)
  3. Natera (NTRA)
  4. Danaher Corporation (DHR)
  5. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)
  6. Co-Diagnostics IncCommon Stock (CODX)
  7. DexCom (DXCM)
  8. Laboratory Corporation of America (LH)
  9. Agilent Technologies (A)
  10. Illumina (ILMN)
  11. Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO)

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How to invest in research stocks

  1. Choose an online stock trading platform. Choose from our Top Picks above, use our comparison table below or jump straight to the best stock trading apps of 2024.
  2. Sign up for an account. Provide your personal information and sign up.
  3. Set up a funding method to pay for the transaction. Deposit funds into your account by linking your banking information.
  4. Choose the stocks you want to buy. Search for the stock by name or ticker symbol like BIOC or OPK.
  5. Place your order. Buy the stock. It's that simple.

Take a deeper dive into research stocks

If you're interested in investing in the medical industry, take a closer look at what companies in this industry do and how the stocks have historically performed. Keep in mind that positive past performance doesn't guarantee that a stock will continue to rise in the future.

1. Biocept (BIOC)

Biocept, Inc. , a molecular oncology diagnostics company, develops and commercializes proprietary clinical diagnostic laboratory assays designed to identify rare tumor cells and cell-free tumor DNA from blood and cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF in the United States. Its cancer assays provide information to healthcare providers to identify oncogenic alterations that qualify a subset of cancer patients for targeted therapy at diagnosis, progression, and monitoring to identify resistance mechanisms.

Biocept stock opened the day at $0.00 after a previous close of $0.00. The latest price was $0.00 (25-minute delay). Biocept is listed on the NASDAQ, has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD1.4 million and employs 50 staff.

  • Market capitalization: $1,142,060
  • PEG ratio: -0.04

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2. Opko Health (OPK)

OPKO Health, Inc. operates as a healthcare company, in the United States, Ireland, Chile, Spain, Israel, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Pharmaceutical and Diagnostics.

Opko Health stock opened the day at $1.44 after a previous close of $1.44. The latest price was $1.45 (25-minute delay). Opko Health is listed on the NASDAQ, has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$581.1 million and employs 2,275 staff.

  • Market capitalization: $1,094,883,712
  • PEG ratio: 93.6471

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3. Natera (NTRA)

Natera, Inc. , a diagnostics company, engages in the development and commercialization of molecular testing services worldwide. It offers Signatera, a personalized ctDNA blood test for MRD assessment, early recurrence monitoring, and evaluation of treatment response in patients previously diagnosed with cancer; Latitude, a blood-based MRD test for colorectal cancer; Altera, a tissue based comprehensive genomic profiling test; and Empower, a hereditary cancer screening test.

Natera stock opened the day at $216.68 after a previous close of $216.50. The latest price was $219.23 (25-minute delay). Natera is listed on the NASDAQ, has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$2.5 billion and employs 6,135 staff.

  • Market capitalization: $31,816,728,576
  • PEG ratio: 0

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4. Danaher Corporation (DHR)

Danaher Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets professional, medical, research, and industrial products and services in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates through Biotechnology, Life Sciences, and Diagnostics segments. The Biotechnology segment provides technologies, consumables, services, and solutions that advance, accelerate, and integrate the development and manufacture of therapeutics; cell line and cell culture media development services; cell culture media, process liquids and buffers for manufacturing, chromatography resins, filtration technologies, and aseptic fill finish; single-use hardware, consumables, and services, such as the design and installation of full manufacturing suites; lab filtration, separation, and purification; lab-scale protein purification and analytical tools; reagents, membranes, and services for diagnostic and assay development; and healthcare filtration solutions.

Danaher Corporation stock opened the day at $182.49 after a previous close of $183.63. The latest price was $180.79 (25-minute delay). Danaher Corporation is listed on the NYSE, has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$24.8 billion and employs 58,000 staff.

  • Market capitalization: $129,897,144,320
  • P/E ratio: 35.5678
  • PEG ratio: 1.179

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5. IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX)

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. develops, manufactures, and distributes products for the companion animal veterinary, livestock and poultry, dairy, and water testing industries in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Companion Animal Group; Water Quality Products; and Livestock, Poultry and Dairy.

IDEXX Laboratories stock opened the day at $553.31 after a previous close of $556.94. The latest price was $557.91 (25-minute delay). IDEXX Laboratories is listed on the NASDAQ, has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$4.4 billion and employs 11,000 staff.

  • Market capitalization: $44,344,864,768
  • P/E ratio: 41.3353
  • PEG ratio: 3.6023

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6. Co-Diagnostics IncCommon Stock (CODX)

Co-Diagnostics, Inc. operates as a molecular diagnostics company that develops, manufactures, and sells reagents used for diagnostic tests that function through the detection and/or analysis of nucleic acid molecules in the United States and internationally. It offers Co-Dx PCR platform, a polymerase chain reaction testing to patients in point-of-care and at-home setting.

Co-Diagnostics IncCommon Stock stock opened the day at $4.99 after a previous close of $4.88. The latest price was $4.70 (25-minute delay). Co-Diagnostics IncCommon Stock is listed on the NASDAQ, has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$718,166 and employs 115 staff.

  • Market capitalization: $20,748,318
  • PEG ratio: 0

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7. DexCom (DXCM)

DexCom, Inc. , a medical device company, focuses on the design, development, and commercialization of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems for the management of diabetes and metabolic health in the United States and internationally. The company offers Dexcom G7 and G7 15 Day, an integrated continuous glucose monitoring system; Dexcom G6, a CGM system; Dexcom ONE+ to replace fingerstick blood glucose testing for diabetes treatment decisions; Stelo, a biosensor designed for adults with prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes who do not use insulin; Dexcom Share, a remote monitoring system; and Dexcom Follow application.

DexCom stock opened the day at $74.94 after a previous close of $74.77. The latest price was $75.25 (25-minute delay). DexCom is listed on the NASDAQ, has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$4.8 billion and employs 11,000 staff.

  • Market capitalization: $29,036,943,360
  • P/E ratio: 32.2961
  • PEG ratio: 1.3941

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8. Laboratory Corporation of America (LH)

Labcorp Holdings Inc. provides laboratory services. It operates through two segments, Diagnostics Laboratories and Biopharma Laboratory Services.

Laboratory Corporation of America stock opened the day at $267.97 after a previous close of $268.63. The latest price was $265.27 (25-minute delay). Laboratory Corporation of America is listed on the NYSE, has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$14.1 billion and employs 71,000 staff.

  • Market capitalization: $22,460,620,800
  • P/E ratio: 24.2828
  • PEG ratio: 1.147

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9. Agilent Technologies (A)

Agilent Technologies, Inc. provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Life Sciences and Diagnostics Markets, Agilent CrossLab, and Applied Markets.

Agilent Technologies stock opened the day at $131.45 after a previous close of $131.62. The latest price was $129.55 (25-minute delay). Agilent Technologies is listed on the NYSE, has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$7.2 billion and employs 18,000 staff.

  • Market capitalization: $36,589,060,096
  • P/E ratio: 26.0664
  • PEG ratio: 1.2928

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10. Illumina (ILMN)

Illumina, Inc. provides sequencing- and array-based solutions for genetic and genomic analysis in the Americas, Europe, Greater China, the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa. The company offers sequencing- and array-based instruments and consumables, which include reagents, flow cells, and library preparation; whole-genome sequencing kits, which sequence entire genomes of various size and complexity; and targeted resequencing kits, which sequence exomes, specific genes, and RNA or other genomic regions of interest.

Illumina stock opened the day at $162.50 after a previous close of $162.47. The latest price was $166.21 (25-minute delay). Illumina is listed on the NASDAQ, has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$4.4 billion and employs 8,600 staff.

  • Market capitalization: $24,769,323,008
  • P/E ratio: 29.7114
  • PEG ratio: 2.8474

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11. Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO)

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. provides life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services in the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Life Sciences Solutions, Analytical Instruments, Specialty Diagnostics, and Laboratory Products and Biopharma Services.

Thermo Fisher Scientific stock opened the day at $483.98 after a previous close of $482.04. The latest price was $475.66 (25-minute delay). Thermo Fisher Scientific is listed on the NYSE, has a trailing 12-month revenue of around USD$45.2 billion and employs 125,000 staff.

  • Market capitalization: $176,765,468,672
  • P/E ratio: 26.1783
  • PEG ratio: 1.6245

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Bottom line

While it’s possible to turn a profit investing in research stocks, keep in mind that — like any investment — research stocks are not immune to risk. These stocks are subject to fluctuating conditions — both in the market and in the medical industry, so carefully vet your picks before you invest. And if you’re new to investing, or if it’s been awhile since you’ve taken a critical look at your investing accounts, compare brokers to make sure you’re getting the best features in your trading account.

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