Looking For The Best Health Care Stocks To Watch In March? 4 Names To Know

In the current age we live in, health care is undeniably a top priority. From general health services to vaccines and cutting-edge treatments, there are plenty of means to invest in the industry. However, with all the recent positive vaccine news, investors appear to be trimming their

health care stocks

. To illustrate, the Nasdaq Health Care Index continues to outpace the Nasdaq Composite in terms of losses over the past month. This would be the case as investors have been turning their attention towards more

post-pandemic stocks

. Regardless, some of the

top health care stocks

continue to make strides and innovate.

For instance, vaccine frontrunners Moderna (

NASDAQ: MRNA

) and Pfizer (

NYSE: PFE

) are now working on improving their coronavirus vaccines. With new variants of the virus popping up, both companies are now working towards developing a third booster shot. Should they be able to do so, it would stand to benefit the duo and investors alike. If anything, this should serve as a reminder that the fight against the pandemic is still ongoing. Because of that, countless people will likely continue to rely on the health care industry. In light of all this, do you have these

top health care stocks to buy

[or avoid] on your watchlist?

Best Health Care Stocks To Watch

• 
  Sage Therapeutics Inc.
  
  (
  
  NASDAQ: SAGE
  
  )
• 
  Clover Health Investments Corporation
  
  (
  
  NASDAQ: CLOV
  
  )
• 
  Merck & Company Inc.
  
  (
  
  NYSE: MRK
  
  )
• 
  Second Sight Medical Products Inc.
  
  (
  
  NASDAQ: EYES
  
  )

Sage Therapeutics Inc.

To begin with, Sage is a biopharmaceutical company that is in focus now. For some context, its developmental pipeline consists of products aimed at treating depression and improving overall brain health. Given its focus on mental health treatments, the company would be in the market to help the general population. This would be because of the recent rise in mental health challenges brought on by pandemic-related stressors. Given all of this, it does not surprise me to see that SAGE stock is looking at gains of over 170% since the March 2020 lows.

In its latest quarter fiscal posted last month, the company brought in a total revenue of $1.11 billion. To investors’ delight, Sage also posted an earnings per share of $18.19 compared to a loss of $3.25 the same quarter last year. CEO Barry Greene cited “

significant progress

” across all of the company’s brain health franchises as a contributing factor to this growth.

Moving forward, Sage is also looking to make the most of its existing collaboration with biotech company Biogen (

NASDAQ: BIIB

). The duo is currently working to develop and commercialize zuranolone to treat various depressive disorders. With seemingly growing end markets in its sights, will you be watching SAGE stock closely?

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Clover Health Investments Corporation

Another health care stock on the radar now would be Clover. In brief, the company operates as a next-generation Medicare Advantage insurer. Clover offers health insurance services to America’s seniors through its proprietary software platform, the Clover Assistant. Through its platform, the company empowers physicians with data-driven, personalized insights at the point of care. All in all, this serves to improve clinical decision-making and outcomes. Understandably, as Clover’s services optimize existing health care systems at affordable prices, investors would be keeping an eye on it.

Just last week, the company revealed that it received a five-year grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Clover is now working with Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, and ACP Decisions, a non-profit organization focusing on advanced care planning (ACP). The trio will be conducting studies on the effectiveness of multimedia tools for improving ACP among patients with terminal illnesses.

According to Clover, the number of patients living with serious chronic illness and receiving home-based care through house call providers is increasing. As a result, health care systems are looking for scalable solutions to meet rising needs in this sector. Ideally, the data from the study would help Clover better serve its Medicare beneficiaries in the long run. Does this make CLOV stock worth watching now? I’ll let you decide.

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Merck & Company Inc.

Merck is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. For the uninitiated, the company has been creating medicines and vaccines for over the past century. Among its core focuses are cancer, cardio-metabolic disorders, and infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Accordingly, MRK stock continues to make headlines as of late because the company has been busy fighting COVID-19. Last week, it was announced that the company would be working with Johnson & Johnson (

NYSE: JNJ

).

According to President Joe Biden, Merck will help JNJ ramp up the production of its newly approved single-dose vaccine. This would entail funding from the U.S. government to bolster Merck’s existing vaccine manufacturing infrastructure. In the long term, this would benefit Merck as it continues to flex its vaccine manufacturing expertise.

Furthermore, the company also provided an update on its COVID-19 treatment that is currently being co-developed with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics. Simply put, data from its Phase 2a trials indicate a reduction in time to decrease infectious viral load in COVID-19 patients. This marks a positive development for both companies for sure. With over 21 million active coronavirus cases now, additional treatments for patients would be crucial as well. Seeing as Merck is fighting the pandemic on several fronts, could MRK stock be worth adding to your watchlist?

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Second Sight Medical Products Inc.

Next, we will be looking at Second Sight. To summarize, the medical device company creates implantable visual prosthetics for blind patients. Notably, it is a recognized global leader in creating neuromodulation devices to treat blindness. The company’s offerings primarily help patients suffering from Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), a genetic retinal degenerative disease. Patients suffering from RP are often completely blind. Namely, Second Sight’s Argus II system is the first FDA-approved commercial implant used to partially treat RP in the U.S. More importantly, EYES stock quadrupled in value last Friday after the company received a regulatory update from the FDA.

In detail, Second Sight received FDA approval for its Argus II-based Retinal Prosthesis System (RPS). Essentially, the RPS is a set of external hardware consisting of a pair of glasses and a video processing unit. When connected with the Argus II system implant, the RPS enhances comfort and aesthetics in Second Sight’s existing RP treatment. As Second Sight continues to refine its offerings, I can see why investors would be keeping EYES stock in view.

Moreover, the company is currently undergoing a business combination with bioelectronics company Pixium Vision. With the duo looking to form a global leader in blindness treatment, could this be the beginning of exciting times for EYES stock? You tell me.