In this article, we will list the Billionaire Cliff Asness’ Top 5 Healthcare Stock Picks. Please visit Billionaire Cliff Asness’ Top 10 Healthcare Stock Picks if you would like to see the extended list and the methodology behind it.
5. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY)
AQR Capital Management’s Stake Value: $785,712,065
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 132
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is one of billionaire Cliff Asness’ top 10 healthcare stock picks. On June 25, Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) released additional details about the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program, where it explained how eligible Medicare Part D patients can access its two weight management drugs for a flat $50 per month starting July 1, 2026. The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program is a government-run demonstration initiative administered by the CMS.
Source: Pexels
For context, until this program, Medicare has not broadly covered obesity medications, even though two in five Americans aged 65 and older live with obesity, Eli Lilly noted. The company estimates that roughly 20 million Medicare patients may qualify under the program’s clinical criteria, and that this makes it the first time that many seniors will have meaningful, affordable access to prescription obesity treatment.
The program covers Foundayo (orforglipron) and Zepbound (tirzepatide). Foundayo is a once-daily oral pill that requires no food or drink restrictions and Zepbound is the most prescribed injectable weight-loss medication in the US. The program does not cover single-dose Zepbound vials or pens; only the Zepbound KwikPen is included.
To qualify, patients must be 18 or older, have Medicare Part D coverage, and have a BMI of 35 or higher. The program accepts a BMI of 27 or above combined with specific weight-related conditions such as prediabetes, high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease, or a prior heart attack or stroke. However, the program excludes patients already receiving a GLP-1 drug through their Part D plan, or those diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, moderate-to-severe sleep apnea, or fatty liver disease.
Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY) is a pharmaceutical company. It discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells human pharmaceutical products worldwide. The company focuses on therapeutic areas like diabetes, obesity, oncology, immunology, and neuroscience.
4. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)
AQR Capital Management’s Stake Value: $864,252,715
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 113
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is one of billionaire Cliff Asness’ top 10 healthcare stock picks. On June 25, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced the commercial launch of the Dual Energy THERMOCOOL SMARTTOUCH SF (DE STSF) Platform in Europe. That means the platform is now commercially available to electrophysiologists across the EMEA region for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation.
The company said that the platform is the first of its kind to combine two distinct energy sources in a single catheter-based solution. It combines radiofrequency (RF) and pulsed field (PF) energy to allow physicians to switch between the two during the same procedure without having to change equipment. This is clinically significant because RF and PF ablation each have different tissue effects and safety profiles, said Nicolas Derval, M.D., a consultant for Johnson & Johnson based in Bordeaux, France. Derval added that the ability to use both gives doctors more flexibility to tailor treatment to individual patient anatomy and disease patterns.
Johnson & Johnson explained that the platform consists of the DE STSF Catheter, which is an irrigated, contact-force sensing catheter that physically delivers energy to heart tissue. The other half consists of the TRUPULSE Generator, which controls and powers the delivery of both RF and PF energy. The company said the system is fully integrated with its CARTO 3 System, which is an electro-anatomical mapping platform. This combination enables real-time 3D visualization, contact-force feedback, and index-guided ablation during live procedures.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is a healthcare conglomerate. It operates through two segments: Innovative Medicine, which develops and markets prescription drugs in oncology, immunology, neuroscience, and infectious disease, and MedTech, which manufactures medical devices for surgery, orthopedics, and interventional solutions.
3. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)
AQR Capital Management’s Stake Value: $1,037,920,515
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 98
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is one of billionaire Cliff Asness’ top 10 healthcare stock picks. On June 25, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) announced that the FDA approved both KEYTRUDA and KEYTRUDA QLEX each in combination with Gilead’s Trodelvy as a first-line treatment for adult patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) whose tumors express PD-L1 at a Combined Positive Score of 10 or higher. KEYTRUDA is the brand name for pembrolizumab, which is given intravenously, and KEYTRUDA QLEX is the brand name for a mixture of pembrolizumab and berahyaluronidase alfa-pmph, and is given as a subcutaneous injection.
Merck said the approvals are based on the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-D19/ASCENT-04 trial. It added that because TNBC advances rapidly, a large proportion of patients never make it to a second line of therapy, meaning the first treatment choice is often the only real opportunity to meaningfully extend life. Merck noted that these are the first approvals of a PD-1 inhibitor combined with a Trop-2-directed antibody-drug conjugate in advanced TNBC. The treatment replaces a chemotherapy backbone with a targeted-plus-immune approach.
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is a pharmaceutical company. It discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets prescription medicines, vaccines, and animal health products. Its portfolio includes KEYTRUDA and Gardasil, a vaccine for human papillomavirus.
2. Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)
AQR Capital Management’s Stake Value: $1,090,767,371
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 72
Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) is one of billionaire Cliff Asness’ top 10 healthcare stock picks. On June 23, RBC Capital analyst Ben Hendrix initiated coverage of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) with a Sector Perform rating and a price target of $70.
Hendrix acknowledged that Centene entered 2026 showing clear early signs of a recovery, which is a massive contrast to the brutal conditions that defined 2025. In 2025, the company was faced with soaring medical costs, policy uncertainty around the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, subsidies, and a difficult Medicaid environment. All these together impacted the stock and sent it to historic lows, the analyst noted.
Hendrix is certain that Medicaid is a key pillar of the stock this time around. He expects margins to keep improving as state reimbursement rates gradually catch up with the actual medical costs Centene is incurring, which is a lag that had been one of the main profit drags on the business in prior years. On Centene’s ACA exchange business, often referred to as the Health Insurance Marketplace, the analyst also views the margin outlook favorably. He pointed to pricing adjustments Centene has made across its ACA portfolio that are expected to improve profitability going forward. This is even as the company deals with a higher-cost membership base following the expiry of enhanced premium subsidies.
Hendrix also sees potential for Centene’s 2026 earnings per share to come in above its own guidance if risk adjustment receivables remain stable.
Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) is a managed care company. It provides health insurance coverage and related services to individuals and families through government-sponsored programs, including Medicaid, Medicare, and the Health Insurance Marketplace.
1. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY)
AQR Capital Management’s Stake Value: $1,797,126,523
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 83
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) is one of billionaire Cliff Asness’ top 10 healthcare stock picks. On June 3, Arcus Biosciences announced a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY), where Arcus’s investigational kidney cancer drug, casdatifan, will be added to Bristol-Myers’s ongoing Phase 1/2 ROSETTA RCC-208 trial. The trial focuses on pumitamig, an investigational bispecific antibody being jointly developed by BioNTech and Bristol Myers Squibb targeting patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
Arcus said that it will supply casdatifan for use in two new treatment arms that will be added to the existing ROSETTA RCC-208 trial structure. However, both companies retain full development and commercial rights to their respective drugs.
Arcus CEO Terry Rosen, Ph.D., noted that this collaboration with Bristol-Myers is strategic and that it is “a top priority for Arcus in order to potentially deliver an additional effective TKI-free option in the first-line setting.”
Separately, on June 8, Bristol-Myers launched “Investigating Myeloma”, a multiple myeloma awareness campaign in partnership with actress and advocate Mariska Hargitay. Hargitay is best known for her 27-year run as Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU, and she lost her father to the disease 20 years ago.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) is a biopharmaceutical company. It discovers, develops, and commercializes prescription medicines in oncology, immunology, cardiovascular, and neuroscience.
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