3 Defensive Healthcare Stocks Retail Investors Are Finding During The Tech Selloff

With tech stocks under pressure and investors shifting attention toward more defensive areas, some larger companies in utilities, consumer staples, and healthcare are drawing fresh interest. These businesses often serve everyday needs, so their revenues can sometimes be less tied to market swings or sudden changes in sentiment. This article looks at 3 stocks from a Defensive Stocks screener that appear closely exposed to the latest tech selloff, sector rotation, and volatility. The goal is to help you think through where these stocks might fit in a portfolio, or where caution could be sensible, given current market stress.

Overview: Insulet is a medical device company that focuses on insulin delivery, best known for its tubeless Omnipod systems that automate insulin dosing for people with diabetes and connect to continuous glucose monitors via Bluetooth. It also supplies drug delivery pods used in Amgen’s Neulasta Onpro kit and distributes its products through pharmacies and independent distributors in the United States and internationally.

Operations: Insulet generates about US$2.9b in revenue from drug delivery systems, with roughly US$2.1b from the United States and US$844.9m from international markets.

Market Cap: US$10.3b

Insulet gives you exposure to a healthcare device business that sits squarely in the defensive camp at a time when investors are moving away from volatile tech stocks. Omnipod 5 and the planned closed-loop systems target a large and expanding diabetes population, while recurring pod usage can support more predictable revenue and, if expectations play out, rising margins over time. At the same time, the stock carries real questions, including reliance on a single product platform, recall costs that management is working through, and a P/E that assumes continued strong execution. If the growth in type 2 diabetes usage and international adoption plays out as analysts expect, today’s market volatility may be masking a much bigger story for Insulet.

Insulet’s recurring pod model and diabetes reach could be only part of the picture. The real question is how that story lines up against execution expectations and valuation, which is exactly what the DCF valuation analysis for Insulet

Overview: Inari Medical is a medical device company that develops minimally invasive catheter based systems to remove blood clots and improve blood flow in patients with deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, small vessel thrombosis, and severe limb ischemia, serving specialists such as interventional radiologists, interventional cardiologists, and vascular surgeons.

Operations: Inari Medical generates about US$574.5m in revenue from surgical and medical equipment, with roughly US$535.7m from the United States and US$38.8m from international markets.

Market Cap: US$4.7b

Inari Medical is positioned within the current rotation into healthcare, with clot removal and limb saving procedures that fall into essential care rather than discretionary treatment, which can be appealing when tech stocks are under pressure. Forecast earnings growth of around 65.75% a year and double digit revenue growth expectations set a high bar, especially as the company is still loss making with a P/S multiple well above sector averages and a share price that screens as significantly above one fair value estimate. For investors, the focus is on the potential path to profitability within 3 years and the clinical importance of its devices, balanced against funding risk, earnings volatility, and the possibility that sentiment has moved ahead of fundamentals.

Inari Medical’s rapid revenue build, high forecast earnings growth and premium P/S multiple suggest investors may be missing a key tension between ambition and execution that the analyst forecasts for Inari Medical starts to unravel.

Overview: Glaukos is a specialist in eye care therapies, developing pharmaceutical and medical device treatments for glaucoma, corneal disorders such as keratoconus, and retinal diseases, which it sells to surgery centers, hospitals, and eye care practices in the United States and internationally.

Operations: Glaukos generates about US$551.3m in revenue from developing and commercializing ophthalmic therapies, with roughly US$412.3m from the United States and US$139.0m from international markets.

Market Cap: US$8.1b

Glaukos is part of the healthcare rotation that many investors are considering after the recent tech selloff, with a focus on chronic eye diseases where treatment decisions are often less tied to economic cycles. Its glaucoma stents, iDose TR implant, and emerging products such as Epioxa and GLK-321 provide several potential avenues for long term growth, supported by rising analyst expectations for revenue and earnings. At the same time, the stock is currently loss making, trades at a high P/S multiple, faces reimbursement and policy uncertainty, and has seen insider selling. These factors can increase both valuation and execution risk. For investors, the appeal is exposure to a glaucoma and corneal platform within the healthcare sector, while the overall risk and reward profile remains nuanced.

Glaukos sits at the crossroads of high priced growth expectations and real world glaucoma and corneal treatments, and the analyst forecasts for Glaukos could show whether current enthusiasm is masking one crucial twist in the story.

The 3 stocks covered here are only a starting point, with the full Defensive Stocks screener uncovering 23 more companies that pair similar resilience themes with their own specific narratives through the Defensive Stocks screener. Identify and analyze the exact catalysts, financial traits, and storylines that matter to you so you can focus on the defensive ideas that best match your highest conviction.

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Seeking Fresh Alternatives Before Momentum Shifts

Market momentum can flip fast, and the next breakout stocks rarely stay under the radar for long. Scan these fresh ideas before the crowd catches on and consider them while they are still less widely followed.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data
and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your
financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data.
Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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