Large Cap Biopharma Boosts Portfolio Gains…Update-2 8/21/26 Green screen day

8/21/26…Another big day for biotech makes me want to review my SMID Biotech Focus list in depth as many of our stocks are near YTD highs and both the IBB and XBI are within 2% of highs so a week-end of digestion could be good. Despite the WAR and issues in the bond market equities still look good buoyed by strong earnings. Likewise as we have commented in recent posts the healthcare sector has benefited from money rotating out of technology and AI stocks.

• Leading sectors for the weeks are materials, healthcare and energy. The IBB is now up 26% YTD.
• Here is the heat map for healthcare stocks within the XLV.

8/19/26…11:25 am EDT…Its a green screen day in biotech and health ,review our previous posts.

• Here is the news from yesterday that brought Merck (MRK) stock to new highs of $150 today supporting our biotech thesis of how “innovation drives market gains.” MRK is up 10.89% for the week and 42.8% YTD. The IBB now  at $212 is up  6.67% for th week and 25.74% YTD!

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Large Cap Biopharmaceuticals Boost Portfolio Gains

• Large cap biopharma provides growth plus dividends and drive M&A for pipeline replenishment.
• Biotech stocks boost healthcare portfolios with innovation and new products.
• Offers balance to InfoTech portfolios yet can benefit from AI applications.

Away from the volatility and daily headlines of AI and InfoTech you can add some biotech stocks to buffer your portfolio. Large cap biopharma stocks offer growth plus dividends and are more immune from geo-political and economic events.

Here are some takeaways from the data below and the pharmamaceutical sector overall:

1. If you dont want to pick stocks a good option is to buy the IBB up over 17% YTD and 44% over one year, Or just buy the Fidelity Select Biotech Sector Fund (FBIOX) up17% YTD, 43.7% one year.
2. We also own shares in SWISS pharma companies Novartis (NVS) up 10.63% YTD and Roche ADR (RHHBY) up 7.39% YTD.
3. Two plays for laggard stocks are: AZN for M&A and PFE for value and yield with key execs are buying Pfizer stock
4. AMGN is the best performer yet the analyst summary is not bullish?
5. Our largest positions are Abbvie, Lilly and Novartis
6. When in doubt on a trade RSI or momentum is  a good indicator.
7. The XBI and the IWM are good indicators for overall biotech and SMID biotech strength.
8. Merck (MRK) is the best performer 29% YTD and 61% over one year. RSI is a robust 68. 8/20 :See latest news on the Merck Melanoma vaccine.