Large Cap Biopharmaceuticals: Performance Metrics-January 2026: Growth plus Dividends

Jan 6, 2026 | 2025 Rayno Biopharmaceuticals Portfolio, Biopharmaceuticals

Large Cap Biopharmaceuticals -Core Positions for Any Healthcare Portfolio

  • The IBB Large cap weighted Biotech ETF beats the S&P 500 (SPY) with a 25% Return.
  • A portfolio with 3-4 with our Large Cap picks did better: ABBV ,GILD,  LLY. Or one fund FBIOX up about 28% YTD.
  • Provide growth plus dividends; many stocks rallied in Q4 after pricing “settlement” with Trump Admin.

Many investors avoided these reliable growth stocks because of all the attention given to technology stocks and the momentum of AI. Also there  were concerns about price controls from the Trump Administration with the goal of reducing healthcare costs even though drugs as a percent of total costs is about only 11%.We  have provided coverage of the Large Caps consistently throughout 2025 so be sure to review older posts. We will provide updates the week after the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference Jan.12-15.

Here are additional comments:

  1. ABBV has been our top pick because of performance and pipeline focus on immunology and neuroscience.
  2. Pfizer underperformed but we have bought small positions for its dividend >6%.
  3. Some of these stocks can be quite volatile so track your holdings for news:  AZN is a top performers up 39%.
  4. Eli Lilly has always been expensive from a PE aspect but has led the way for explosive growth with NOVO on blockbuster weight- loss drugs.
  5. Bristol-Myers Squibb was a new value pick recently in the high 40s with a Div of 4.66%
  6. Top Performers for 2025 were: AZN at 39%, LLY at 39%, GILD 34%, ABBV  30%, AMGN 26%.
  7. Vertex receive an upgrade today by Wolfe and in DEC by Morgan-Stanley in December: was up 4% today to $468.
  8. You can get comparable gains in biotech with the IBB and with a fund Fidelity Select Biotech Fund (FBIOX).
  9. We also own two Large Cap Swiss biopharmas: Novartis (NVS) and Roche (RHHBY)

LONG: ABBV, BMY, LLY, GILD, PFE, REGN, VRTX.

Analyst p PRICE PRICE 52 wk
Top Biopharmas TICKER PICK TECH Fwd/PE Summ 2022 11/23 7/12/25 1/4/26 1 yr % 1 mo.% div % RSI high
Abbvie ABBV B U 16 1.7 161.64 138.59 192.45 229.31 30 2.2 2.84 53.89 244.8
Amgen AMGN H U 14.9 2.3 275 303 292.27 327.64 26.4 3.17 2.91 50.16 346.4
Astra Zeneca AZN H/B U 17.8 1.59 68 63.17 71.13 91.57 39.69 1.55 1.71 54.27 94
Bristol Myers Sq BMY B U 8.93 2.48 71.05 50.61 46.86 53.5 -4.64 10.8 4.66 59 63.33
Eli Lilly LLY B U 33.24 1.53 447.71 597.71 793.01 1080.4 39.6 3.27 0.56 64 1199
Gilead Science GILD H/B U 14.23 1.73 85.39 75.92 109.64 123.4 33.6 5.32 2.68 59.41 124.86
Merck MRK H/B U 12.72 1.96 110.95 103 106.45 91.45 8.21 5.36 3.08 67.5 107.6
Pfizer PFE H/B F 8.42 2.48 51.24 29.48 25.18 25.87 -4.69 -0.12 6.76 49 27.69
Regeneron REGN B U 17.49 1.83 725 798 567.74 776.3 10.5 4.62 0.49 62.46 793
Vertex VRTX H/B U 22.23 1.89 289 373.65 468.85 452.13 13.22 4.38 0 53.5 519
Van Eck ETF PPH B U 103.72 20.56 3.31 1.77 62.76 99.51 LLY,NVS,MRK, NVO
iShares IBB B F 169 24.77 10 0.18 50.83 174.4
VRTX,GILD, AMGN REGN

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