2 Healthcare Stocks Wall Street Analysts Say Could Rally 60% or More

For stock investors, any beaten-down sector is worth combing through for bargains. These days, healthcare certainly qualifies; the S&P Composite 1500 Health Care index has ticked only marginally higher over the past year, against the nearly 12% growth of the broader, multisector S&P 500 index.

There are more than a few discount healthcare stocks with potential. Here’s a look at a pair that certain analysts believe could rise by at least 60% over the coming year – Viking Therapeutics (VKTX 7.93%) and HCA Healthcare (HCA 0.88%).

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1. Viking Therapeutics

Over the past few years, Viking has become a well-known company in the biotech space as a developer of next-generation obesity drugs. With the approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy in 2021, medicines indicated for weight loss have been hotly popular (especially in the U.S., with its relatively high obesity rates).

What makes Viking something of a standout among the growing crowd of weight-loss drug developers is that its leading candidate, VK2735, is in the latter stages of development. It recently announced that enrollment in a crucial phase 3 trial of the medication had been completed; the readout is expected next year. The company is also working on an oral form of VK2735, with this version slated to begin a phase 3 trial in the third quarter of this year.

Previous clinical testing indicates the drug might be quicker at helping people shed pounds than either Wegovy or the current No. 1 treatment indicated for obesity, Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. It’s this combination of late-stage development, apparent potency, and commercial potential that’s making both investors and analysts bullish on Viking.

Several pundits feel its stock could bounce several times higher (which is not uncommon when a biotech scores FDA approval, particularly for the first time). Edward Nash of Canaccord Genuity believes it could more than triple, with a price target of $107 per share. BTIG’s Jeet Mukherjee is even more optimistic, as his price target stands at $125.

Investing in clinical-stage biotechs is always risky, as they’re typically in make-or-break situations with their pipeline programs. Yet this one is a standout for VK2735’s very encouraging lab performance. So I’d give Viking Therapeutics an above-average chance of regulatory – and likely commercial – success with the treatment.

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NASDAQ: VKTX

Viking Therapeutics

Today’s Change

(-7.93%) $-2.58

Current Price

$29.94

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$3.5B

Day’s Range

$29.88 - $32.52

52wk Range

$18.92 - $43.15

Volume

258

Avg Vol

3M

2. HCA Healthcare

HCA is the No. 1 healthcare-system operator in the United States, owning and managing 186 hospitals and roughly 2,400 facilities for outpatient services both in this country and in the U.K.

A rise in patient volume has positively affected its fundamentals, with same-facility admissions rising 2.4% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025 and helping boost overall revenue by nearly 7% to $19.5 billion. Management’s guidance indicates the annual top line could expand by as much as 6% this year.

A major catalyst for this is a significant long-term demographic shift. The U.S. population is getting proportionally older, with those age 65 or older accounting for 55.8 million people – 17% of the population – in the 2020 census. Both figures were the highest in the survey’s history. Many believe both will continue to rise; a recent demographic report by Claritas estimated that in 2030, 71.6 million folks will be in this age bracket, comprising 20.7% of the population.

Of course, an older population requires more medical care, and since HCA is a leading provider of facilities where that care is delivered, it should benefit from this organic trend alone. What will also help is management’s forward-looking approach. Lately it’s been harnessing its Timpani platform, enabled by artificial intelligence (AI), to improve nurse staffing, which is currently something of a bottleneck in the U.S. healthcare system.

Though some market professionals would disagree – TIKR, for example, has set a lofty price target of $882 per share on the company – I don’t quite see it hitting 60% price growth in the next year. For me, although HCA is attractive as a stock, it’s more of a long-term, buy-and-hold play.

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NYSE: HCA

HCA Healthcare

Today’s Change

(-0.88%) $-4.14

Current Price

$467.71

Key Data Points

Market Cap

$105B

Day’s Range

$467.49 - $475.24

52wk Range

$314.43 - $556.52

Volume

38K

Avg Vol

1.1M

Gross Margin

15.83%

Dividend Yield

0.63%