{"id":389543,"date":"2026-01-03T19:01:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T19:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/389543\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T19:01:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T19:01:09","slug":"2-healthcare-stocks-to-buy-in-a-bear-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/389543\/","title":{"rendered":"2 Healthcare Stocks to Buy in a Bear Market"},"content":{"rendered":"

They can help you weather the storm.<\/p>\n

It might not seem like it, but the S&P 500 flirted with bear market territory earlier this year. It has rebounded nicely since, but it’s always worth considering which stocks would be worth buying if we enter a bear market. Turning to the healthcare sector — which is about as defensive as they come — is a great idea.<\/p>\n

Many healthcare companies perform well, or at least better than most, through good and bad times. With that as a backdrop, let’s consider two excellent healthcare stocks to buy in a bear market: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ<\/a> +0.07%) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT<\/a> 1.01%).<\/p>\n

\"Person<\/p>\n

Image source: Getty Images.<\/p>\n

1. Johnson & Johnson<\/p>\n

Johnson & Johnson is a diversified healthcare leader<\/a>. The company’s business spans innovative pharmaceuticals, where it develops products across a range of therapeutic areas, including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, infectious diseases, and more. Then there is Johnson & Johnson’s medtech division, which also spans several areas. The company generates consistent revenue and profits. The business isn’t flashy, but it gets the job done.<\/p>\n

The demand for Johnson & Johnson’s medical products remains fairly high, which enables the company to record relatively strong results even when the economy is weak.<\/p>\n

\"Johnson<\/p>\n

Today’s Change<\/p>\n

(0.07%) $0.14<\/p>\n

Current Price<\/p>\n

$207.09<\/p>\n

Key Data Points<\/p>\n

Market Cap<\/p>\n

$500B<\/p>\n

Day’s Range<\/p>\n

$203.72 – $207.37<\/p>\n

52wk Range<\/p>\n

$140.68 – $215.19<\/p>\n

Volume<\/p>\n

201K<\/p>\n

Avg Vol<\/p>\n

8.4M<\/p>\n

Gross Margin<\/p>\n

68.27%<\/p>\n

Dividend Yield<\/p>\n

2.48%<\/p>\n

Further, Johnson & Johnson has the highest credit rating available<\/a>. While some corporations face financial troubles and are unable to fulfill their obligations, that’s unlikely to happen to this healthcare giant. Lastly, it is a fantastic income stock. Johnson & Johnson is a Dividend King<\/a>, a company that has maintained an active streak of at least 50 consecutive years of dividend increases. Johnson & Johnson is at 63. This provides even more evidence that the company can perform well — and raise its payouts — through good and bad times, making it a top stock to buy in a bear market<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. Abbott Laboratories<\/p>\n

Abbott Laboratories checks many of the same boxes as Johnson & Johnson. It’s a healthcare leader with a business spanning medical devices, nutrition, diagnostics, and pharmaceuticals. The company’s diversification enables it to get through challenging times. If one segment suffers, the others pick up the slack. The result: reliable (albeit not exceptional) revenue and earnings growth.<\/p>\n

\"Abbott<\/p>\n

Today’s Change<\/p>\n

(-1.01%) $-1.27<\/p>\n

Current Price<\/p>\n

$124.02<\/p>\n

Key Data Points<\/p>\n

Market Cap<\/p>\n

$216B<\/p>\n

Day’s Range<\/p>\n

$123.65 – $125.23<\/p>\n

52wk Range<\/p>\n

$110.86 – $141.23<\/p>\n

Volume<\/p>\n

180K<\/p>\n

Avg Vol<\/p>\n

6.2M<\/p>\n

Gross Margin<\/p>\n

52.09%<\/p>\n

Dividend Yield<\/p>\n

1.90%<\/p>\n

Abbott also has attractive growth prospects, with none more appealing than its work in diabetes care. Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre, a franchise of continuous glucose monitoring devices, has been its biggest growth driver for years and is expected to remain so for a while, considering the market remains underpenetrated. Abbott is also seeking new avenues for growth. A recent acquisition<\/a> will allow it to make waves in the cancer diagnostic market.<\/p>\n

Lastly, Abbott Laboratories is also a Dividend King. Its current streak of consecutive payout increases stands at 54 years. It’s an excellent stock to buy and hold in case a bear market hits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"They can help you weather the storm. It might not seem like it, but the S&P 500 flirted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":389544,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[64,63,137,500],"class_list":{"0":"post-389543","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-healthcare"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=389543"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/389543\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/389544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=389543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=389543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=389543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}