Top 10 pharma stocks to watch in 2026

Pharmaceutical companies discover, develop and sell prescription medicines. All ten on this list are US-listed, and while most operate as traditional drug makers, BioNTech SE ($BNTX) and Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings ($DNA) take a platform-based approach – $BNTX focused on mRNA therapies and $DNA on cell engineering and biological R&D services.

How we built this list: We selected these companies based on their industry and ordered them by market capitalisation. Prices are updated daily, and the list and supporting content are reviewed roughly every quarter. All data is sourced from Stake. This list isn't a recommendation and isn't ordered by suitability.

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Source: Stake market data. Figures in US$. Data updated as of 25 September 2026.

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1. Eli Lilly ($LLY)

Eli Lilly (LLY) share price over the last year: started at US$726.51, ended at US$1,183.46, a change of +62.9%. Range over the period: high US$1,280.34, low US$726.51. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$1,183.46 · Daily: 0.1% · Market cap: US$1.11T · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Pharmaceuticals

Eli Lilly and Company ($LLY) operates a single business segment – human pharmaceutical products – covering everything from discovery and development through to manufacturing and distribution. Under chief executive Dave Ricks, the company employs around 50,000 people and sells its medicines in approximately 90 countries.

In cardiometabolic, Mounjaro and Zepbound sit alongside longer-standing products like Trulicity and Jardiance. The oncology side includes Verzenio and Cyramza, while the immunology range covers Taltz, Omvoh and Ebglyss. Neuroscience adds Kisunla and Emgality to the mix.

$LLY also runs LillyDirect, a direct-to-patient digital platform that connects patients with third-party pharmacies for delivery of select Lilly medicines. Manufacturing takes place across U.S. facilities – including Puerto Rico – as well as sites in Europe and Asia.

2. Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) share price over the last year: started at US$181.62, ended at US$271.22, a change of +49.3%. Range over the period: high US$278.43, low US$181.62. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$271.22 · Daily: 0.2% · Market cap: US$653.61B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Pharmaceuticals

Johnson & Johnson ($JNJ) divides its operations into two segments: Innovative Medicine, which develops prescription drugs, and MedTech, which produces devices for hospitals and surgical settings.

The Innovative Medicine side covers oncology, immunology, neuroscience, pulmonary hypertension, infectious diseases and cardiovascular disease. Its portfolio includes branded treatments such as CARVYKTI (ciltacabtagene autoleucel), DARZALEX (daratumumab) and ERLEADA (apalutamide).

MedTech develops equipment for cardiovascular procedures, orthopaedics, surgery and vision care, serving hospitals, physicians and eye care professionals. The company is also advancing Firelink, a proprietary degrader antibody conjugate platform. Joaquin Duato leads the business, which employs 138,200 people.

3. AbbVie ($ABBV)

AbbVie (ABBV) share price over the last year: started at US$223.16, ended at US$264.34, a change of +18.5%. Range over the period: high US$265.97, low US$197.38. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$264.34 · Daily: -0.3% · Market cap: US$467.12B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Pharmaceuticals

AbbVie Inc. ($ABBV) researches, manufactures and sells medicines across immunology, oncology, aesthetics, neuroscience and eye care. Its immunology work targets conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, while the oncology portfolio includes Imbruvica and Venclexta for blood cancers.

The aesthetics arm covers facial injectables, body contouring and skincare – a distinct corner of the business from the clinical treatments for Parkinson's disease and migraines found elsewhere in the portfolio. $ABBV employs 57,000 people under CEO Robert Michael, with pipeline candidates including zumilokibart and APG273 in development.

4. Merck & Co ($MRK)

Merck & Co (MRK) share price over the last year: started at US$78.58, ended at US$148.78, a change of +89.3%. Range over the period: high US$156.45, low US$78.58. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$148.78 · Daily: 0.5% · Market cap: US$367.07B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Pharmaceuticals

Merck & Co ($MRK) runs two distinct businesses under one roof: prescription medicines and vaccines for humans, and a separate animal health arm that develops and sells veterinary products for livestock and companion animals. The human side covers everything from hospital-dispensed biologics to vaccines sold through government programmes and managed care networks.

Its cancer medicine KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) sits alongside WELIREG (belzutifan) for certain tumour types and Ohtuvayre (ensifentrine), a newer respiratory treatment. Around 75,000 employees work across both segments, with Rob Davis serving as chief executive.

5. AstraZeneca ($AZN)

AstraZeneca (AZN) share price over the last year: started at US$146.10, ended at US$166.58, a change of +14.0%. Range over the period: high US$209.48, low US$146.10. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$166.58 · Daily: 1.2% · Market cap: US$194.69B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Pharmaceuticals

AstraZeneca ($AZN) is a UK-based biopharmaceutical company with prescription medicines distributed in more than 125 countries. Its portfolio covers five therapy areas – oncology, cardiovascular and metabolic disease, respiratory and immunology, vaccines and immune therapies, and rare disease – with products like Tagrisso, Farxiga and Symbicort among the key names across those areas.

About 191 projects sit in $AZN's development pipeline, including 19 new molecular entities at late stage. CEO Pascal Soriot leads a workforce of around 96,100 people.

6. Pfizer ($PFE)

Pfizer (PFE) share price over the last year: started at US$23.85, ended at US$28.67, a change of +20.2%. Range over the period: high US$29.02, low US$23.67. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$28.67 · Daily: 0.9% · Market cap: US$163.41B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Pharmaceuticals

Pfizer ($PFE) discovers, develops and sells biopharmaceutical products across three broad categories: oncology, primary care and specialty care. Its oncology portfolio includes drugs like Ibrance and Padcev, while primary care covers vaccines such as the Prevnar family, Comirnaty and the antiviral Paxlovid. Specialty care adds treatments across immunology and rare diseases, including the Vyndaqel family for heart conditions.

Albert Bourla leads the company, which employs 75,000 people globally. $PFE is also developing PF-08653944, an ultra-long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist.

7. Novo Nordisk A/S ($NVO)

Novo Nordisk A/S (NVO) share price over the last year: started at US$55.50, ended at US$38.80, a change of −30.1%. Range over the period: high US$63.98, low US$35.29. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$38.80 · Daily: 0.5% · Market cap: US$130.70B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Pharmaceuticals

Diabetes care sits at the heart of what Novo Nordisk A/S ($NVO) does. The company makes insulin, GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) therapies, oral anti-diabetic drugs and the delivery systems that go with them. Saxenda, $NVO's obesity treatment, falls under the same segment alongside glucagon and other protein-related products. Its biopharmaceuticals arm is a separate business covering hemophilia care, growth hormone therapy and hormone replacement therapy.

$NVO markets products in over 180 countries through two commercial units: North America and International Operations. The company employs 68,794 people and is led by CEO Maziar Doustdar.

8. GSK plc ($GSK)

GSK plc (GSK) share price over the last year: started at US$41.10, ended at US$49.24, a change of +19.8%. Range over the period: high US$61.18, low US$41.10. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$49.24 · Daily: -0.8% · Market cap: US$99.22B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Pharmaceuticals

GSK plc ($GSK) is a UK-based biopharma company with 66,841 employees, built around the science of the immune system. Its work covers four therapeutic areas: respiratory, immunology and inflammation, oncology, and infectious diseases including HIV. Specialty medicines in the portfolio address conditions from asthma and lupus to cancer, while general medicines include inhalers for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and antibiotics.

The pipeline includes ozureprubart, an anti-immunoglobulin E monoclonal antibody the company is developing as a long-acting treatment, alongside HS235 for pulmonary hypertension. $GSK's oncology pipeline also carries several molecules at varying stages, including Zidesamtinib and neladalkib. Under chief executive Luke Miels, $GSK continues to run two main operating segments – Commercial Operations and Research and Development.

9. Biontech SE ($BNTX)

Biontech SE (BNTX) share price over the last year: started at US$98.10, ended at US$98.52, a change of +0.4%. Range over the period: high US$119.34, low US$83.89. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$98.52 · Daily: -0.7% · Market cap: US$24.75B · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Biotech

Based in Germany, BioNTech SE ($BNTX) develops patient-specific immunotherapies primarily targeting cancer. Immunotherapy works by directing the body's immune system at cancer cells. $BNTX draws on several technology platforms to do this: mRNA-based treatments, CAR-T cells (immune cells engineered to recognise tumours), targeted antibodies and small molecules.

CEO Ugur Sahin oversees the company's 7,807 employees. Outside oncology, $BNTX develops diagnostic products and drug discovery services covering infectious diseases, allergies and autoimmune disorders. Its pipeline can also combine multiple platforms together when the science supports it.

10. Ginkgo Bioworks ($DNA)

Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA) share price over the last year: started at US$13.23, ended at US$10.66, a change of −19.4%. Range over the period: high US$16.14, low US$5.48. Source: Stake market data. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Price: US$10.66 · Daily: 4.0% · Market cap: US$685.9M · Sector: Healthcare · Industry: Biotech

Ginkgo Bioworks Holdings ($DNA) operates as a contract research platform for biological R&D – essentially running the lab work so its customers don't have to build that capability themselves. Its cloud-accessible autonomous lab handles experiments across genetic medicine, agriculture, industrial biotechnology and government applications, with results delivered through its Datapoints and Solutions services.

Under CEO Jason Kelly, the company's 485-person team works across a single business segment: cell engineering. That covers tools and services for protein engineering, gene therapy, cell therapy, gene editing and RNA therapeutics – a wide range of modalities, all connected by the shared infrastructure of the platform.

The customer base mixes commercial biotech and pharma companies with government clients. It doesn't own the products its customers make; it provides the biological R&D services that help those products reach the market.

Common questions

How do I invest in pharma stocks in New Zealand?

All ten companies in this list trade on U.S. exchanges, so you'd access them through a share trading platform that offers U.S. market access. Purchases are made in USD, which means your returns in NZD move with both the stock price and the NZD/USD exchange rate. Some platforms convert NZD to USD at the point of purchase; others require you to hold USD in your account beforehand.

What are the key risks of pharma stocks?

Clinical and regulatory risk is among the most acute – a drug that fails in late-stage trials or doesn't receive a regulator's sign-off can hit a company's value hard, particularly when that drug was central to its pipeline. Patent expiry is a slower structural drag: once a medicine loses exclusivity, generic or biosimilar competition tends to erode the revenue it generated. Pricing pressure from governments and insurers, product liability litigation, and currency movements between the NZD and USD also factor in for New Zealand investors holding these U.S.-listed stocks.

What's the difference between pharma and biotech companies in this list?

Most names here are classified as pharmaceuticals – companies with diversified product portfolios, manufacturing operations and marketed medicines already generating revenue across multiple therapy areas. Two, $BNTX and $DNA, sit in the biotech industry. $BNTX is described as a clinical-stage company focused on immunotherapies and mRNA-based technology platforms, while $DNA provides biological R&D services and cell engineering tools to customers rather than selling medicines to patients directly. Platform and services-oriented businesses like these can carry more company-specific risk tied to whether their technology translates into commercial products or attracts sufficient partners.

What tends to move pharma stock prices?

Clinical trial results are among the most immediate catalysts – a positive late-stage readout can lift a stock sharply, while a failure can do the opposite. Patent expiry is a slower-moving force: when a blockbuster drug loses exclusivity, generic competition typically chips away at the revenue it produced. Regulatory decisions, drug pricing negotiations with governments and insurers, and pipeline news all feed into how the market values these companies over time.

Disclaimer

Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. When you invest, your capital is at risk. You should consider your own investment objectives, financial situation, and particular needs before making an investment decision. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may receive back less than your original investment. As always, do your own research and consider seeking appropriate financial advice before investing.

This is not personal financial advice nor a recommendation to invest in the securities listed. Any advice provided by Stake is of general nature only and does not take into account your specific circumstances. Trading and volume data from the Stake investing platform is for reference purposes only, the investment choices of others may not be appropriate for your needs and is not a reliable indicator of performance.

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