The March jobs report released on April 3 showed an impressive 178,000 jobs were created. Of that number, 76,000 were in the healthcare sector. This was a reversal from the decline in healthcare jobs posted in the prior quarter. Most of those gains were seen in hospitals and ambulatory care services.
For investors, the report reinforces the case for some individual stocks in this space, particularly during times when investors are looking for defensive stocks with both a measure of safety and modest growth.
That’s a tricky combination, but one that the healthcare sector is uniquely equipped to handle. That's due to the combination of an aging population and consistent utilization of services. That’s where investors can find opportunities when strong companies pull back from the sector.
This article highlights three of these names. Each has its own mix of operational strength, earnings power, and appealing valuations. More importantly, each is tied to a business model that benefits from ongoing demand for medical care, even when the labor backdrop is uneven
HCA Healthcare: A Scaled Leader With Defensive Appeal
HCA Healthcare (NYSE: HCA) owns and operates a network of hospitals and related healthcare facilities, including the operation of acute care hospitals, freestanding surgical and emergency centers, and outpatient clinics. HCA Healthcare has a scale that gives it leverage in staffing, purchasing, and hospital operations, which can help offset cost pressure.
HCA hit oversold levels in late March but rallied since the jobs report to trade right around its 50-day simple moving average (SMA). Since then, it has pulled back slightly, and a consensus price target of $537.73 indicates healthy upside.
However, analysts have been raising their price targets after the company’s strong earnings report. The company beat on the top and bottom lines and issued constructive full-year guidance.
For investors seeking a steadier healthcare rebound, HCA has one of the cleanest profiles in the sector. It combines defensive demand, operating efficiency, and a long track record of execution. At around 17X earnings, it trades at a slight premium to the sector average, but it’s still a good stock to buy on pullbacks.
Tenet Healthcare: Momentum and Institutional Support Stand Out
Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC) is a competitor of HCA Healthcare, and like HCA, THC has shown strong growth in the past year, climbing over 50%. That performance was backed by strong revenue and earnings, which both posted impressive year-over-year gains.
It won’t be a surprise, then, to see that the THC chart is almost identical to that of HCA. The stock was touching oversold levels in late March but has climbed since the jobs report, bouncing off a level that was prior support in January.
Tenet is recognized as the leader in this sector, and that’s supported by institutional ownership of over 95% . And they don’t just own the stock; the buying activity outpaces selling by nearly 2:1 and has been consistent in the last four quarters.
Analysts are also bullish on the stock. Even with the 7.4% rally in THC in the five trading days ending April 9, the stock is still 30% below its consensus price target of $250.56.
Universal Health Services: A Turnaround With Digital Upside
Universal Health Services (NYSE: UHS) is another diversified healthcare management company. Universal Health operates a similar portfolio to that of Tenet and HCA. However, the company has a somewhat unique catalyst from the other two companies in this article. That is, it recently announced that it is acquiring Talkspace (NASDAQ: TALK), which will give the company a significant foothold in the digital mental health space.
UHS stock is down about 17% in 2026. That’s due, in part, to the company’s earnings report. Unlike THC and HCA, Universal Health Services missed on its top and bottom lines. That reversed a rally that started in late January. However, like the other stocks on this list, UHS bounced off oversold levels in late March and is trying to stage a recovery.
Analysts are bullish, giving UHS a consensus price target of $232.21, which would provide almost 30% upside. The stock also has an impressive 86% institutional ownership, and buying has been consistently outpacing selling in the last four quarters.
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The article "3 Oversold Healthcare Stocks to Buy After Jobs Data" first appeared on MarketBeat.
