10 Best Affordable Healthcare Stocks to Buy Now

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1. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

​Forward P/E: 11.27

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 92

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is one of the best affordable healthcare stocks to buy now. Jefferies analyst Tycho Peterson reaffirmed a Buy rating on Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) on December 19 and set a $139.00 price target.

The same day, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) announced a historic agreement with the Trump administration to ensure the affordability and accessibility of its medicines for Americans. The agreement allows the company to ensure that Americans have access to its life-changing vaccines and medications at lower costs.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) reported that it has plans to provide key products at affordable prices for eligible patients in the US through a direct-to-patient program, which currently includes JANUVIA, JANUMET, and JANUMET XR. The plan will be expanded in the future to include enlicitide decanoate after FDA approval. The direct-to-patient program would allow the availability of JANUVIA, JANUMET, and JANUMET XR to eligible American patients at a cash price, which reflects an approximately 70% discount from the current list price.

Management also reported that Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) reached an understanding with the U.S. Department of Commerce for the delay of Section 232 tariffs for three years, allowing the company to make investments in the United States to reshore manufacturing for American patients.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is a biopharmaceutical company that delivers health solutions to advance the treatment and prevention of diseases in animals and people. Its Pharmaceutical segment offers vaccines and human health pharmaceutical products, typically therapeutic and preventive agents. Its Animal Health segment develops, discovers, manufactures, and markets a range of vaccines and veterinary pharmaceutical products.

While we acknowledge the potential of MRK to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MRK and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

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