12 Best Ethical Stocks To Buy Now

Published on October 11, 2022 at 9:00 am by Insider Monkey Team in Lists, News

In this article, we will take a look at 12 best ethical stocks to buy now. If you want to see some more of the best ethical stocks to buy, go directly to 5 Best Ethical Stocks To Buy Now.

Sometimes investing is more than about just making money. Investing can also be used to make a positive contribution to the world. Ethical stock investing concerns investing in stocks that could help save lives or make the environment more sustainable. Given the importance of ethics, realizing the best returns isn’t as important as what the company does and how many lives it can improve.

Ethical investing can be considered as a subset of ESG Investing, which stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance investing. In ESG investing, investors use non-financial factors to identify opportunities such as whether the investment can help fight against climate change or whether a company is advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Given that the Federal Reserve has increased interest rates at five consecutive meetings, the benchmark interest rate is now at 3-3.25%, the highest it has been since 2008. As a result of the increases, borrowing costs have gone up and businesses are finding it harder to make profits. Although the increases in interest rates could help lower demand to help fight inflation, the increases can take some time to take effect. In the mean time, the stock market has to deal with higher inflation and rising interest rates at the same time, which isn’t good for some companies’ earnings.

In these uncertain times, it could be a good idea for investors to have a well diversified portfolio with investments in many different sectors. In the sector of ESG investing, here are some of the best ethical stocks to consider.

biotech research company, bio-technology companies

Methodology

For our list of 12 Best Ethical Stocks To Buy Now, we took Tesla which is an electric vehicle company that can help save the environment and Deere & Company which helps make food that people need in addition to leading drug companies that could help develop cures for many of today’s ailments. We then ranked them from #12 to #1 based on the number of hedge fund holders in our database that held each stock at the end of Q2 2022.

12 Best Ethical Stocks To Buy Now

12. GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE:GSK)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 34

GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE:GSK) develops, manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products, vaccines, over the counter medicines and health related consumer products globally. The company is considered one of the best ethics stocks because GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE:GSK) has a robust R&D pipeline including potential treatment candidates for infections diseases, HIV, oncology, and immunology. In the second quarter, GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE:GSK) had promising phase IIb interim data presented for bepirovirsen, a potential new treatment for chronic hepatitis B.

Of the 895 hedge funds in our database, 34 were long GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE:GSK) at the end of Q2, ranking it #12 on our list of 12 Best Ethical Stocks To Buy Now.

Alongside Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), GlaxoSmithKline plc (NYSE:GSK) is a best ethical stock to buy now.

11. Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 54

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery and more. Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) is considered one of the best ethics stocks because its success could help lower prices for farmers and in turn lead to potentially lower food prices for the world. Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) are up almost 5% year to date. 54 owned shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) worth a total of over $1.58 billion at the end of Q2.

10. Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 54

Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) discovers, develops, manufactures, and delivers therapies for treating neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. The company is an ethics stock because Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) has several late stage pipeline treatment candidates including Lecanemab and Zuranolone. 54 hedge funds in our database were long Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) with positions worth $2.28 billion at the end of the second quarter.

9. Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 55

Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) discovers, develops manufactures and delivers human therapeutics worldwide. The company is considered an ethics stock because it does research on fields such as inflammation, oncology, bone health, cardiovascular disease, and more. Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) is a giant in the industry with a market cap of over $125 billion. Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) shares have increased 3.2% year to date.

Aristotle Capital said the following in its Q2 2022 investor letter about Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN),

“Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN), the pharmaceutical company focused on biotechnology-based therapeutics, was also a top contributor for the quarter. The company reported solid results, with a variety of products, such as bone-strengthening drugs Prolia and EVENITY, contributing to overall revenue growth. Amgen continued to increase the market share for cholesterol drug Repatha (a catalyst we had originally identified), delivering record quarterly sales as the drug’s usage expands with high-risk patients who have not yet had a cardiovascular event, and as barriers for prescribers, healthcare systems and patients are removed. In addition, we believe the company is poised to gain market share with its biosimilars (akin to generic versions of biologic drugs), also a previously identified catalyst. Biosimilars accounted for over $2 billion in revenue in 2021, and we believe this has the potential to more than double by the end of the decade, accelerated by six additional biosimilars (for a total of 11 products on the market). This includes the upcoming launch in the U.S. of arthritis treatment Amjetiva in January 2023. Meanwhile, the company is advancing its robust pipeline of early- and late-stage assets, with several phase III results due this year. These developments have caused us to remain enthusiastic about Amgen’s ability to build on its decades of success developing novel treatments using biopharmaceuticals.”

55 hedge funds in our database were long Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) at the end of Q2.

8. Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 58

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) is a pharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and commercializes medicines in areas of unmet medical need. Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) is considered an ethics stock because it has a substantial pipeline with 58 clinical stage programs and 11 potential clinical stage opt in assets. 58 hedge funds we track were long Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) at the end of the second quarter, ranking it #8 on our list of 12 Best Ethical Stocks To Buy Now.

7. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 69

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) discovers, develops and markets biopharmaceutical products worldwide. the company offers products for hematology, oncology, cardiovascular, immunology and more. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) has a pipeline of over 50 compounds in development and over 40 disease areas being studied. 69 hedge funds in our database owned shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) at the end of the second quarter, ranking it #7 on our list of 12 Best Ethical Stocks To Buy Now.

6. Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 70

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) discovers, develops, manufactures and sells biopharmaceutical products worldwide. The company offers medicines in many therapeutic areas and is also a leader in COVID-19 vaccines. 70 hedge funds in our database were long Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) with a total position worth $2.8 billion at the end of Q2 2022.

ClearBridge All Cap Value commented on Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) in its second quarter investor letter,

“We initiated a new position in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE) in the health care sector. In addition to helping to balance our exposure to more cyclical sectors of the market, Pfizer’s strong windfall from its COVID-19 vaccines has swelled the company’s free cash flow to a magnitude we feel is not adequately reflected at its current valuation. The inundation of cash into Pfizer’s war chest leaves it wellpositioned to buy ample assets to refill and expand its pharmaceutical pipeline. In that sense, the recent market downturn has created even greater long-term opportunities, as many biotechnology stocks are now much more attractively valued for potential acquisition. We believe that its inclusion to the portfolio provides both short-term insulation from further market pullbacks and long-term value creation opportunities.”

Companies like Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK), and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) are also among the best ethical stocks to buy now.

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