The pharmaceutical industry is made up of companies that research, develop, make, and sell drugs and treatments used to treat or eradicate diseases and vaccinate people. This includes some of the largest and best-known companies in the world, such as Pfizer Inc. (PFE), Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK), and AbbVie Inc. (ABBV). A number of pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, have seen a surge in their sales after winning approval from U.S. and foreign governments for vaccines aimed at preventing the COVID-19 virus.
Over the past 12 months, pharmaceutical stocks, based on the iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (IHE), have slightly outperformed the overall market. IHE’s total return over the period was 5.6% compared to the Russell 1000’s total return of 4.5%. These market performance figures and all statistics in the tables below are as of March 14, 2022.
Here are the top three…
