With the S&P/ASX 200 Health Care Index (ASX: XHJ) dipping slightly into the red on Wednesday, it's been a different story for three individual ASX healthcare shares.
Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME), Race Oncology Ltd (ASX: RAC), and Regis Healthcare Ltd (ASX: REG) have all hit fresh 52-week highs in trading today.
Here's a look at what's driving investor confidence within each company.
Pro Medicus continues strong performance
Pro Medicus shares nudged its new 52-week high of $135.67 this afternoon. This continues the ASX healthcare share's impressive gain of more than 97% over the past year — and outperforming the healthcare sector by more than 88%.
The recent surge follows several positive developments. For example, Pro Medicus' US subsidiary, Visage Imaging, recently secured five new customer contracts valued at $45 million, as my colleague Bernd reported.
Goldman Sachs values the ASX healthcare stock as a buy with a $136.00 per share price target.
In a note from May, the broker said Pro Medicus was "well positioned into FY25 given a full year benefit of some large, high-profile contracts". It also liked the "accelerating frequency and size of [the company's] new contract wins".
CommSec shows the ASX healthcare share rated as a moderate buy from the consensus of analyst estimates.
Race Oncology leaps on FDA news
Race Oncology also hit a new 52-week high of $2.09 on Wednesday, continuing its buying trend from Tuesday.
This came after the company announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had extended the Rare Paediatric Disease Designation (RPDD) of its novel drug compound, RC220 bisantrene.
The compound is indicated for treating childhood subtypes of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).
"US FDA RPDD is granted for new treatments of serious or life-threatening diseases which affect fewer than 200,000 people in the US and which primarily affect individuals less than 18 years of age", the announcement read.
This designation qualifies Race Oncology to receive a "highly valuable" Priority Review Voucher (PRV). Recent PRV sales "to third parties on the open market" have fetched around US$110 million.
The news has benefitted the ASX healthcare share, which now stands around 49% higher over the past 12 months.
Regis Healthcare on a high
Regis Healthcare was the third ASX healthcare stock to reach a 52-week high today, touching $4.36 in morning trade. The company is a healthcare giant and one of Australia's largest providers.
Analysts at Macquarie recently upgraded Regis Healthcare's rating to outperform, with a price target of $5.50. This upgrade follows favourable recommendations from the Aged Care Taskforce, which looks at innovation in the healthcare sector.
The company's recent acquisition of CPSM, completed in December, added five high-quality aged care homes to its portfolio. As reported by my colleague Tristan, it now boasts 68 residences with a combined total of 7,604 beds.
Regis Healthcare shares are up 96% in the past 12 months.
