Looking for standout ASX healthcare stocks? Top brokers have you covered, rating three names as potential buys for FY25.
Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME), Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH), and Ansell Ltd (ASX: ANN) are the three picks.
These companies have delivered strong performance and show potential for further growth. Let's see what the experts say.
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ASX healthcare stock soars on record FY24 results
Pro Medicus shares have rallied 58% this year and are trading at $151.3 per share at the time of writing.
The health imaging technology company reported a 29.3% jump in revenue to $161.5 million for FY24.
North America led this growth with a 34.4% increase, while Australia saw a solid 5.9% rise. Although European revenue dipped slightly, the overall performance remained robust.
Operating leverage was a standout, with sales growth contributing to operating margins of 69.5%.
These results led to a 29.5% increase in the fully franked final dividend, now at 22 cents per share.
Goldman Sachs is bullish on the ASX healthcare stock and continues to rate it a buy. Prior to Pro Medicus' FY24 numbers, it forecasted a 28% growth in revenues, so the company beat these expectations.
Goldman sees a strong growth period for the company in FY25 as well.
Fisher & Paykel driving to new heights
Fisher & Paykel shares have lifted 34% this year to date and are currently priced at $29.25 per share.
The company has quietly become a top performer amongst fellow ASX healthcare stocks.
For FY24, Fisher & Paykel reported a 10% increase in sales to NZ$1.74 billion, with net profit rising 6% to NZ$264.4 million.
Management said the New Zealand-based company is back on a "trajectory of growth" after FY24, particularly in the respiratory care segment.
Wilsons rates the stock a buy and has a $30 price target. Whilst Fisher & Paykel is trading near this range, it's unclear if Wilsons will update its target.
The healthcare business also sits on Equity Trustees' "shopping list" of high-quality ASX shares with excellent fundamentals.
It is up more than 40% in the past year.
Ansell continues catching the bid
Ansell shares have rallied 9% in the past month and are currently fetching $29.11 apiece. Investors have bid the ASX healthcare stock higher this week after it released its FY24 results.
Despite a 2% drop in sales to $1.62 billion and a similar decline in operating profit, its operating cash flow rose sharply by 126% to $168 million.
This strong cash flow enabled Ansell to pay a full-year unfranked dividend of 38.4 US cents per share.
Ansell's acquisition of KBU from Kimberly-Clark for $638.9 million, completed on 1 July, is also a standout in my view.
Following its FY24 results, consensus estimates now project 13% growth in earnings per share (EPS) to $1.73, according to CommSec.
This is expected to accompany a 12% growth in dividends to 71.8 cents per share.
Meanwhile, consensus also rates the stock a buy, per CommSec. This is made up from six buy recommendations, one hold, and two sell ratings.
If Ansell does hit the EPS estimates, and investors pay the current 22 times price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple, the stock could trade at $38 apiece (22 x $1.73 = $38).
ASX healthcare stocks takeaway
These ASX healthcare stocks could be worth a closer inspection after this earnings season. If the broker targets prove to be correct, it will indeed be an interesting year.
