IBD Healthcare Update

Went over the latest IBD and it looks like the healthcare has advanced according to IBD, however I am not willing to take it at strictly face value which I will explain. This week there is 11 healthcare-related industries within the top 25 a whopping 44% representation and they are:

#2 Medical/Dental-Services

#3 Medical-Ethical Drugs

#5 Medical-Genetics

#6 Medical-Systems/Equipment

#12 Medical-Health Maintenance Organizations

#13 Medical-Products

#15 Medical-Wholesale Drug/Supply

#16 Medical-Drug/Diversified

#17 Medical-Outpatient/Home Care

#18 Medical-Biomed/Biotech

#24 Medical-Generic/Drugs

This sounds and looks great on the surface, however here is my concern. I sometimes use the IBD 100 to help focus on some momentum stocks and have a set of criteria I follow with regards to overall stock rank and group ranking. Normally, I will have my steady performers who are always on the list in one form or another i.e. POT, ISRG, VIP etc...However this week there was a tremendous amount of new companies into my numbers on the order of +35%, which is not normal. I find during volatile times some companies make a big move one week, so they find themselves into my numbers, but drop out shortly thereafter.

So you may ask...How does this all tie into healthcare? Well, 8 of the 20 new entries are related to the healthcare industry, so I am a bit hesitant and have a gut feeling that there may be more "pain" to follow. Here are those new entries

1. Yamana Gold INC (AUY)
2. Blackrock (BLK)
3. American Public Education INC (APEI)
4. Omnicell (OMCL) (I do own shares of this company)
5. Flir Systems INC (FLIR)
6. Amedisys (AMED)
7. Energen (EGN)
8. Strayer Education (STRA)
9. Invitrogen (IVGN)
10. Icon Plc ADS (ICLR)
11. Covance (CVD)
12. Mechel Oao ADS (MTL)
13. Stericycle (SRCL)
14. Genzyme Corp (GENZ)
15. Berkshire Hathaway A (BRKA)
16. Kendle Intl (KNDL)
17. Apollo Group A (APOL)
18. Cellcom Israel Ltd (CEL)
19. Axsys Tech (AXYS)
20. Continental Res INC (CLR)

Healthcare According to IBD

Here are the latest statistics per the latest Investor's Business Daily. I have compiled the numbers for easier reading. IBD breaks down the marketplace into 197 various industry groups. The rankings are compiled based on price performance of all stocks in the industry in the latest 6 months and according to IBD studies show most top-performing stocks are found in the top quartile of groups and that group action determines at least half of a stock's performance.

Out of the top 30 industry groups, the healthcare industry comprises 33% of this list. The 10 industries making the list are:

#4. Medical-System/Equipment

#6. Medical/Dental Services

#7. Medical Genetics

#8. Medical-Ethical Drugs

#12. Medical-Health Maintenance Organization

#18. Medical-Products

#19. Medical-Wholesale Drug Supply

#23. Medical-Outpaitent/Home Care

#24. Medical-Drug/Diversified

#25. Medical-Biomedical/Biotechnology

In addition, the healthcare sector is up 1.87% YTD, while 18 individual stocks raked up new highs and no new lows, which I find a bit impressive with the market we have been having.

VIVO Las Vegas!

Of course that title should be Viva Las Vegas, however I'm here to briefly talk about Meridian Bioscience (VIVO). This company is in the Healthcare sector specifically the diagnostic substances industry. I have been watching this company work its way in and out of the IBD 100 and was recently ranked towards the bottom at #98. What peaks my interest is the fact that this sector remains positive, while other sectors are taking drubbings. This stock is up over 8% since last Friday on larger than average volume and it looks like it may be beginning to build a base according to the charts. I could envision how someone could possibly play this stock for a short-term pop or longer term investment depending on style and risk-level. The market has been acting crazy lately, so this is NOT a recommendation to buy/sell this stock just something that has sparked my interest, so do please do your own due diligence.

Healthcare for 2008

Everyone realizes that the "baby boomer" generation is heading into their retirement years and I would like to provide a way to capitalize on this inevitable occurrence. As the saying goes, "The only things guaranteed are death and taxes" and most people hate the thought of both. With regards to death or just general health, most individuals and family members will do whatever and spend whatever it takes to prolong a life. I think the Healthcare industry should perform well even with the upcoming Presidential elections later this year. Even if the Democrats win the White House, I believe it will take awhile before any significant changes take place within the healthcare industry. That's why I'm going to be looking into two Exchange Traded Funds: IXJ and XLV. Plus the IXJ has an added bonus of being a global play as well.