If I Had to Start Over With $1,000 in Stocks Today, Here's Exactly What I'd Buy
These well-established companies are on track to deliver more growth.
By Adria Cimino
It's never too late to start investing. Whether the market is rising or falling, you'll always find opportunities to buy quality stocks that may deliver big results over the long term. Even if a particular player already has performed well in recent months or years, if it has financial strength and solid future prospects, its stock could continue to gain -- so you as an investor might benefit even if you buy later in that company's story.
With this in mind, if I had to start over with $1,000 in stocks today, I know exactly which ones I would buy. They are each in the healthcare industry: one is a biotech player that I already hold, another is the global robotics surgery leader, and the last one is a pharma and medtech giant. According to the closing prices as of June 17, I could buy one share of each for a total of $1,094. Let's check them out.
1. Vertex Pharmaceuticals
I've owned Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX 1.54%) shares for a few years, but if I had to start investing all over, I would buy them again. For two reasons. First, Vertex is the world's leader in cystic fibrosis (CF) treatment, and its intellectual property ensures its position into the late 2030s. Vertex's top CF treatment, Trikafta, is a blockbuster, and its more recent launch, Alyftrek, is gaining momentum.
Importantly, Vertex has proven its ability to expand into other treatment areas, having won approval in recent years for a blood disorders treatment and a pain management medicine. These drugs contributed 25% to growth in the recent quarter.
Vertex has promising candidates in the pipeline, including povetacicept, which may treat several diseases including kidney disease IgA nephropathy. That particular candidate is in a phase 3 trial. The biotech's strong ongoing CF earnings engine and this expansion into other areas suggest a bright future -- making it a stock I would invest in all over again.
2. Intuitive Surgical
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG +1.23%) is the global leader in robotic surgery, and it has a fantastic moat, or competitive advantage. This makes it a company that's likely to continue generating growth well into the future.
Intuitive Surgical's moat has two parts: First, surgeons generally train on the company's flagship Da Vinci robot, so they might favor using that robot and its latest updates throughout their careers. Second, surgical robots are major investments, topping $1 million, so hospitals probably will stick with this investment for quite some time to amortize it. All of this is good news for Intuitive Surgical.
I also like the fact that this medical device company's revenue opportunity doesn't end with the sale or leasing out of a robot. The customer must spend on service contracts and instruments and accessories, generating recurrent revenue for Intuitive Surgical. In fact, instruments and accessories revenue makes up a greater share of revenue than the actual sale of robotic systems. All of this makes the stock a fantastic long-term investment to buy at any time.
3. Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 2.46%) is a pharma giant, with business spanning two distinct areas: pharmaceuticals, which J&J calls its innovative medicine division, and medtech. In the first quarter of the year, revenue increased nearly 10%, which is a huge feat for a healthcare giant. And the growth may not stop there. The company says it's on its way to reach its goals of $100 billion in revenue this year and double-digit growth by the end of the decade.
It's clear J&J has the tools to power this momentum. The company has 28 programs or platforms that deliver $1 billion or more in annual revenue. And 10 brands in the innovative medicine unit are generating double-digit growth. J&J's acquisitions in recent years -- such as heart recovery company Abiomed -- also are bearing fruit, adding to strengths in the medtech business.
Finally, J&J is committed to dividend growth -- it's a Dividend King -- and recently lifted its dividend for the 64th year. The company's focus on and delivery of earnings growth, as well as this dividend track record, make it a stock I'd absolutely buy if I were getting started in investing today.