Healthcare stocks gaining new interest beyond their AI name

While AI stocks and oil markets are taking a breather, healthcare stocks just hit record highs, prompting many investors to reevaluate where they can place risk and resilience in their portfolios. As Alphabet deepens its push into AI and other tech giants struggle to translate AI headlines into higher stock prices, attention is turning to sectors more closely tied to long-term medical needs. In this article, we look at three large-cap health care stocks that our screener suggests are closely exposed to breaking news, and explain how each could potentially benefit or face new questions in the current market environment.

Karna Therapeutics (KRTX)

overview: Karuna Therapeutics is a Boston-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing treatments for psychiatric and neurological disorders. The company leads the KarXT program, which targets schizophrenia, dementia-related psychosis such as Alzheimer’s disease, and other central nervous system disorders. It also has early muscarinic and TRPC4/5 assets for depressive disorders.

operation: Karuna Therapeutics currently reports revenues of approximately US$7 million, all of which comes from research and development of its treatments in the United States.

Market capitalization: $12.6 billion

With healthcare stocks back in the spotlight, with some investors looking for healthcare-led growth over AI headlines, Karuna Therapeutics is worth watching for its pure exposure to central nervous system drug development. The company has reported positive Phase 2 data for its lead drug candidate, KarXT, and recent regulatory updates and collaborations indicate that the clinical program remains active. However, revenues are minimal, the business is in the red, and the financing structure is completely dependent on risky external capital. While this valuation appears to be well below fair value estimates, the company also has a relatively high P/B multiple and a history of dilution. This raises the question of whether the pipeline and projected growth will be enough to offset the risks associated with this stock.

Karuna Therapeutics stands at the crossroads of minimal current revenue and high expectations. The real story lies in 2 key rewards and 3 key warning signs (1 is major!) that explain what’s missing in the market.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY)

overview: Alnylam Pharmaceuticals develops and commercializes RNA interference-based medicines that switch off disease-causing genes, with approved treatments for rare conditions such as inherited and acquired amyloidosis, acute hepatic porphyria, primary hyperoxaluria type 1, hypercholesterolemia, and hemophilia, and an extensive pipeline for hypertension, metabolic diseases, neurodegeneration and other serious disorders.

operation: Alnylam generates approximately US$4.3 billion in revenue from the discovery, development, manufacturing and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics, with sales spanning the United States, Europe and the rest of the world.

Market capitalization: $38.9 billion

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals sits at the intersection of healthcare strengths and cutting-edge drug discovery, but it has a much different business model than the hyped AI stocks that have recently fallen in value. The company already sells multiple RNAi drugs and reported revenue of approximately USD 1.2 billion in the first quarter of 2026, indicating solid profitability. We have also signed large-scale AI-powered discovery deals to expand our commercial reach into new markets. At the same time, high reliance on the TTR franchise, high R&D costs and high valuation expectations make execution and pricing risks significant. The tension between strong fundamentals and these pressure points is a key factor for investors to evaluate Alnylam when assessing the durable healthcare opportunity versus the latest AI-driven volatility.

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals is located at the intersection of gene silencing, established products, and AI discovery transactions. The real tension is how the current price reflects that story. To understand what’s missing in the market, read the analysis report for Alnylam Pharmaceuticals.

Insmed (INSM)

overview: Insmed is a Bridgewater, New Jersey-based biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes treatments for serious rare diseases, including pulmonary infections, bronchiectasis, pulmonary hypertension, and neuromuscular and neurodegenerative diseases.

operation: Insmed generates approximately US$819.6 million in revenue from treating patients with rare diseases, including approximately US$658.7 million from the United States and US$160.8 million from international markets.

Market capitalization: 22.4 billion USD

InsMed stands out in the current healthcare upswing because it has already generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue in rare diseases, while pursuing larger opportunities in bronchiectasis, pulmonary hypertension, and gene therapy. At the same time, expectations for future products come with substantial execution risk, as the company remains in the red due to high P/S multiples, heavy reliance on outside funding, and recent insider sales. Collaboration with Google Cloud on generative AI to accelerate drug discovery, as well as extensive real-world research on new hires for brensocative and respiratory leaders, shows executives are looking to translate today’s big spend into tomorrow’s broader respiratory and gene therapy portfolio. The real question is how the gap between ambitious pipelines, current losses and valuations is closing.

InsMed’s combination of rare disease revenue, high spending, and big ambitions in respiratory care suggests a story that the market may not have fully priced in, and InsMed’s analyst forecasts highlight one potential twist that investors often overlook.

These three healthcare stocks are just a starting point. Our complete healthcare stock screen reveals 22 more companies with similarly compelling stories related to long-term healthcare demand and demographic trends. Use Simply Wall St to identify, filter, and analyze the specific triggers and stories that matter to you so you can focus on the health care ideas with the highest conviction.

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If you think Alnylam Pharmaceuticals or any of these companies is a great opportunity, sign up for free on Simply Wall St and add the companies to your watchlist to watch stock prices relative to fair value, the ideal entry point. Once migrated, manage your holdings with a portfolio command center that filters out the noise and delivers only the most important and actionable updates. Our community allows you to filter the best ideas from thousands of investor perspectives throughout your journey. Discover hidden catalysts and risks early to accelerate decision-making and stay ahead of the market.

Find fresh alternatives before anyone else

Markets move quickly, and the best breakout ideas rarely stay silent for long. So before momentum is fully seized and prices start moving, consider this short list of fresh stocks.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary using only unbiased methodologies, based on historical data and analyst forecasts, and articles are not intended to be financial advice. This is not a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take into account your objectives or financial situation. We aim to provide long-term, focused analysis based on fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest announcements or qualitative material from price-sensitive companies. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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