By Doug Busch
The Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF's 7% rally over the past month has been outdone only by technology stocks. The move by healthcare signals a shift in sentiment after a muted summer, with steady accumulation in large-cap pharmaceuticals and biotech accelerated by M&A activity. The last two months alone have seen Metsera, Avidity Biosciences, Merus, 89bio, and Akera Therapeutics all bought out.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals jumped 12% after delivering upbeat guidance yesterday, its second-best advance in more than three years. The stock, which many considered dead money at best since last summer, is suddenly finding favor with investors. The daily chart below shows it recapturing its 200-day simple moving average, a secular line it was underneath for 13 months. Round number theory came into play as the stock shifted between $500 and $600 since April. Yesterday it also broke above a bullish ascending triangle. Look for this to move toward $800 by mid 2026. Remain constructive above $590.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals was trading around $666 Wednesday.
UnitedHealth Group also reported before yesterday's open. The stock's muted response, essentially flat on the day, was actually constructive -- the kind of quiet action longs like to see after the sharp volatility of April and May. I wrote about this name two months ago when it was still carving out a base, and since then it has reached my initial target of $358. From here, I see potential for a magnetic pull toward the 200-day simple moving average near $390 into year-end. Even though shares remain roughly 43% below their 52-week high, they have now posted gains 10 of the past 12 weeks, a testament to improving momentum. Longer term, the stock could ultimately gravitate back toward the very round $600 level, where a large gap fill from the April 16 session awaits. I continue to admire how the bottoming process developed patiently, much like Regeneron's. The turnaround truly took hold after the decisive breakout above the bullish inverse head-and-shoulders pattern in early September.
UnitedHealth was trading around $359 Wednesday.
Digging deeper into the medical equipment space, Agilent Technologies continues to impress. Year to date, it's up 8%, outperforming the iShares Medical Devices ETF, which has gained about 4%. The stock has come alive over the past three months, climbing nearly 20% and shaking off a rough 10 of 11 week losing streak between February and April. It has since advanced 19 of the last 27 weeks without recording consecutive weekly losses, a strong sign of accumulation. Agilent now sits just above a bull flag breakout pivot at $140, and that pattern is nested within a longer cup base that bottomed at the very round $100 level. This setup points to a potential move toward $200 by mid-2026. I'd look to enter here and stay bullish above $130.
Agilent Technologies was trading around $145 Wednesday.
Write to Doug Busch at douglas.busch@barrons.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 29, 2025 12:11 ET (16:11 GMT)
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