iShares US Pharmaceuticals ETF

IHE

Market cap $885M

LLY's $4B vaccine push is boosting interest in healthcare ETFs like IHE with heavy exposure to the drugmaker.

The iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (NYSEARCA:IHE) is the rare fund that has spent the past year being publicly threatened by the President of the United States and quietly outperforming nearly every healthcare benchmark anyway.

U.S. President Donald Trump will ‌announce a dramatic expansion of TrumpRx.gov, a government-backed website offering discounted prescription drugs under his ​administration's pricing deal, on Monday, a White ​House official said.

The healthcare sector is undervalued based on historical averages, especially the healthcare equipment industry. iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF offers cap-weighted exposure to U.S. pharma, with 44% in Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson. Recent outperformance is notable: IHE is 27% ahead of XLV over the past 12 months.

ETFs like XLV stand out as aging U.S. demographics fuel rising demand for healthcare, medical devices and senior-focused care.

The iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF (IHE) was launched on May 1, 2006, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Healthcare - Pharma segment of the equity market.

Investors are questioning the staying power of medical technology (medtech) stocks, which have fallen from grace since the COVID-19 pandemic. The starting point is to distinguish between medtech and other healthcare industries.

The U.S. ​Food and Drug Administration launched a pilot program on Monday aimed at allowing the ‌agency to monitor clinical trial data in real time, a step the agency said could cut years from drug approval timelines and keep the U.S. competitive with China.

When activist investors take a stake in a pharmaceutical company, markets often cheer. The expectation is leaner operations, sharper strategy and higher stock prices.

With Q1 earnings season well underway, it was Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) giving investors a peek at how the broader healthcare sector might perform. The healthcare giant beat expectations on Tuesday in revenue ($24.1 billion actual versus $23.6 expected) and earnings per share ($2.70 actual versus $2.66 expected).