Stocks of major listed health care groups largely held up in Q1
How are the stocks of major listed health care providers doing so far in 2023? With all the difficulties health care operators are currently facing, you might expect that health care stocks of major listed groups would be taking a battering. But most retained or increased their value in Q1 2023.
Out of 11 major listed groups, most increased in value. Other than French elderly care groups Orpea and Korian, which have their own difficulties given issues with French elderly care at the moment, none saw their share values fall by more than 20%. Synlab saw its share price fall 17% from the start of the year, although this was largely down to the difficulty it is having adapting to a post-Covid world where windfall Covid testing profits have largely dried up.
Hospital groups Spire and Fresenius also saw small single-digit falls. But all the others increased in value.
Asset-light, outpatient facing groups appear to be doing particularly well: Medicover and Terveystalo both saw significant double-digit increases. As did elderly care group Attendo and lab group Sonic, suggesting that there are still opportunities in both the elderly care or labs sector!
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