Five Best-Performing Healthcare Companies Added Over $14 Billion to Their Stock Values Year-to-Date

After a challenging 2023, healthcare stocks have enjoyed a solid start to the year. Over the past five months, plenty of companies in the sector have seen double and triple-digit growth, helping them add billions of dollars to their stock values. But these five stand out.

According to data presented by Stocklytics.com, the five best-performing healthcare companies in 2024 are Janux Therapeutics, Viking Therapeutics, Alpine Immune Sciences, Avidity Bioscience, and Vera Therapeutics, which have collectively added more than $14 billion to their stock values year-to-date.

Janux Therapeutics` Stock Value Soared by 409% YTD, 5x more than Nvidia’s

After falling behind the broader market last year, the healthcare sector has become one of the most popular picks among analysts and fund managers in 2024, helping healthcare stocks skyrocket. While plenty of publicly listed companies in the industry have seen their stock prices surge this year, only a few are close to Janux Therapeutics, the best performer on this list.

Janux`s 2024 rally began in February after the company reported encouraging data from its ongoing trials of JANX007 in treating metastatic prostate cancer and JANX008 in treating late-stage solid tumors. Following the news, Wedbush repeated its “outperform” rating for Janux and doubled its price target from $24 to $53. As a result, the company’s stock value soared from roughly $500 million to $2.3 billion in less than a week.

Janux’s stock value continued growing in the following months and is now up 409% for the year, the biggest increase among healthcare companies. This figure is even more impressive when compared to stock value growth of Nvidia, the best S&P 500 performer in 2023. Statistics show the US healthcare company has seen nearly five times bigger stock value growth than Nvidia, whose market cap increased by 86% year-to-date.

Viking Therapeutics follows Janux with a 336% YTD increase and $6.2 billion added to its stock value. Last week, the market cap of a US pharmaceutical company stood at $8.12 billion, up from $1.86 billion five months ago.

Alpine Immune Sciences is the third best-performing healthcare stock in 2024, with a massive $3.1 billion gain and a 279% growth year-to-date. Avidity Biosciences and Vera Therapeutics follow, with 244% and 229% growth rates and $1.7 billion and $1.56 billion added to their stock values, respectively.

S&P 500 Healthcare Sector Index is Up by 5.7% YTD, Following a Modest 0.3% Growth in 2023

Despite a solid start to the year, healthcare stocks are still trailing behind other S&P 500 sectors and the broader market. Following a modest 0.3% growth in 2023, the healthcare sector index is now up by 5.7% for the year.

In comparison, Information Technology and Financials jumped by 11.7% year-to-date, outpacing the broader S&P 500, which is up by 10% for the same period. Utilities and Energy are the biggest winners in 2024, rising by 13% since the beginning of the year. Statistics show the S&P 500 Real Estate sector index is the only one in red, falling by 4.93% year-to-date.