Summary
• The healthcare sector has been in focus throughout the year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
• The sector may continue to remain in the limelight going forward with people’s awareness about health increasing by the day.
• IMU, RAC, SHL are a few healthcare firms that have witnessed positive developments throughout the year.
The healthcare sector has been in focus throughout the year due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As a result, the companies which are directly or indirectly related to the sector have seen their stocks reacting to the flow of developments during the year.
According to experts, the healthcare sector may continue to remain in the limelight going forward as an increased number of people are becoming aware about their health.
IMU, RAC, SHL are a few healthcare firms that have witnessed positive developments throughout the year. As a result, their stock returns have remained high too.
Here we will discuss 10 healthcare stocks whose share prices have increased by over 15% so far this year.
(One needs to research before taking any exposure as sinusoidal market trends are evident)
Oneview Healthcare PLC (ASX:ONE)
The company deals with the business of providing software platforms to healthcare organisations. Oneview Healthcare’s stock has made significant gains this year and delivered a return of 720% so far. The stock has surged from AU$0.050 to AU$0.40.
The company signed a deal with Northern Health as its initial Cloud Start client in Australia. The company’s Cloud Start product allows patients to communicate with their clinicians in a COVID-19-safe manner.
Actinogen Medical Ltd (ASX:ACW)
Actinogen Medical is engaged in the development of an innovative treatment for cognitive impairment linked with neurological diseases open to changes of raised cortisol levels within brain cells.
The stock has given a return of 485% so far this year. The shares have risen from AU$0.020 to AU$01.2.
The company last month received a written supportive US FDA advice in response to its Pre-Investigational New Drug Application submission for its FXS program.
Imugene Ltd (ASX:IMU)
Imugene is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology firm. The company’s shares have received a strong boost from a couple of announcements made recently. In November, Imugene announced positive survival results from its phase 2 HER-Vaxx trial for advanced gastric cancer.
In May 2021, the executive chairman and CEO announced they were increasing their shareholding in the firm
The YTD return for Imugene stock stands at 247%. The stock price has more than tripled from AU$0.10 to AU$0.35 during the period.
Anteotech Ltd (ASX:ADO)
The company under the industry group of Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology & Life Sciences is involved in the development and commercialization of medical products. The company has its own rapid COVID-19 testing platform dubbed EuGeni.
Anteotech’ shares gained after the US FDA gave emergency approval to its customer Ellume’s first at-home COVID-19 test.
Shares of the Anteotech have surged just over 109% so far this year. The stock rose from AU$0.11 to AU$0.23 during the period.
Race Oncology Ltd (ASX:RAC)
Shares of Race Oncology have surged by over 98% so far this year. On 22 July, the stock closed at AU$3.70. The company, formerly known as Coronado Resources, is into the development of Bisantrene, a cancer drug.
In November 2020, Race Oncology announced preclinical results for the use of Bisantrene in treating breast cancer, allowing the treatment to progress to human breast cancer trials.
In February, the company’s treatment displayed encouraging preclinical results for ovarian cancer treatment.
Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX:TLX)
Telix develops and commercialises molecularly targeted radiation (MTR) products for the treatment of cancer. The YTD return for Telix stock stands at over 32%, as of the last closing. The stock has risen from AU$4.01 to AU$5.35 during the period.
Even as the healthcare firm reported losses, its shares are in demand in FY21. The reason could be some recent positive developments. The company had recently said that its bone marrow conditioning drug’s clinical trials were successful. It had said that drug TLX66 had “met study objectives” in patients.
Resmed CDI (ASX:RMD)
The stock of the medical device manufacturing company has moved from strength to strength ever since its robust performance in June. The stock’s year-to-date return stands at just over 27%. The share price rose to AU$34.80 from AU$27.50.
The company’s stock received strong support when global technology giant Philips announced that it would be voluntarily recalling 3.5 million ventilation devices for treating sleep apnoea. Since the repair work may take months to complete, experts expect that demand for ResMed’s products would see an increase in the future.
Resmed is scheduled to release its fourth-quarter results on 5 August 2021.
Immutep Ltd (ASX:IMM)
Immutep develops immunotherapy treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases. One of the company’s popular products is efti, which enables the immune system to kill cancer cells.
The ASX-listed healthcare share has come up with several positive announcements throughout the year.
A few include receiving fast track designation from the United States Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) in April. The company was also granted a patent by China in May. In addition, it raised AU$65 million for further clinical trials in June.
The company’s YTD return stands at over 22%. The stock rose from AU$0.42 to AU$0.50 during the period.
Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX:SHL)
Shares of the medical diagnostic services company have surged over 21% so far this year (as of 22 July 2021). The stock of Sonic Healthcare rose from AU$32.87 to AU$39.56 during the period.
Sonic Healthcare is among those healthcare companies, which played a critical role in Australia’s COVID-19 testing. According to the company’s half-year results, it performed over 18 million tests across 60 Sonic laboratories globally.
The company reported a 166% surge in first-half net profit to AU$678 million. The revenue improved by a third to AU$4.4 billion.
The company said that it was focusing on further growth opportunities, including acquisitions, contracts, and joint ventures, supported by a very strong balance sheet. “We are currently bidding on significant opportunities in Australia, the UK, the USA and Alberta, Canada,” Sonic’s CEO, Colin Goldschmidt had said.
Ansell Ltd (ASX:ANN)
Ansell stock has climbed from AU$34.86 to AU$40.86 this year so far. The stock’s YTD return stands at more than 17%.
Last month, Ansell announced the appointment of Chief Executive Officer Neil Salmon, who will succeed outgoing CEO Magnus Nicolin.
The company recently said that it continues to experience strong global demand for its personal protection equipment (PPE). According to the company’s current estimates, the second half of FY21 would see a 24.5% growth in sales over the prior period (H1 FY21).
The company’s full-year results for the financial year ending 30 June will be announced on 24 August 2021.

Source:ASX Healthcare Stocks