Australian shares are trading mostly higher today, led by the nation's miners after a strong rise in the iron ore price overnight. The ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) is up 0.8% with a number of companies generating substantially stronger gains than that.
However, while the majority of the market is sitting higher, the S&P/ASX 200 Health Care (ASX: XHJ), which tracks the nation's biggest healthcare companies, has fallen 0.8% with a number of big-name companies acting as a drag on the broader market.
CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) has performed incredibly well for investors over the last 12 months and just yesterday hit a fresh 52-week high of $97.95. The stock has risen 13% since the beginning of the month and investors could be taking some of their profits off the table today. It's also possible that investors are reacting negatively to a supposed "threshold" that exists at the $100 mark, although there is absolutely no reason why CSL shouldn't trade beyond that level (indeed, it's done it before).
ResMed Inc. (CHESS) (ASX: RMD) has also been sold off today, falling 1.4% to trade at $7.53. Morgans cut its price target on the stock by 11% to $8.63 which may be impacting the market's confidence, although Goldman Sachs concurrently increased its target on the stock by 6%. One way or another, now could be a great time to pick-up shares in this medical device manufacturer.
Like, ResMed, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH) develops and manufactures medical devices for the treatment of various sleep-related breathing disorders, including sleep apnea. Fisher & Paykel's shares have also come under considerable selling pressure today, falling 2.9% despite the absence of any specific news that would explain the fall. Nonetheless, investors are still sitting on a healthy 61% return over the last 12 months.
Sirtex Medical Limited (ASX: SRX) has also shed 1.4% of its market value today with Morgans also slapping the company with an unfavourable price target. Although there is uncertainty surrounding Sirtex Medical's SIRFLOX clinical trial, the company has recorded incredible growth in recent years and could prove to be a reasonable buy at $30.48 per share.
Of the companies mentioned above, I believe CSL and ResMed could be the best buys at today's prices. In saying that however, there are a number of fantastic alternatives that are also worth considering.