The pharmaceutical sector has had a strong rally in recent months, just take a look at the exchange traded funds State Street Global Advisors (IXJ) and Pharmaceutical HOLDRs Trust (PPH). Both ETFs hit new highs this month.
After a largely sideways performance during the first half of the year, the sector has moved up recently. This movement mimics investor rotation to recession resistant drug stocks, which had robust second quarter profits and improving prospects for the coming quarters.
Pharmaceutical companies like Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merck (MRK), AstraZeneca(AZN), and Novartis have solid sales growth and rising stock prices.
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Yaser Anwar is a guest author at ETFtrends & the editor of Investment Ideas by Yaser Anwar blog. The author of this article is not a registered financial advisor & does not give investment advice. This article does not comprise any solicitation to buy or sell securities, ETFs or other investment vehicles.