We recently published a list of 10 Best Telehealth Stocks to Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) stands against other best telehealth stocks to buy right now.
Overview of the American Telehealth Industry
According to Grand View Research, the telehealth market size in the US was valued at $42.54 billion in 2024. It is expected to grow at a notable compound annual growth rate of 23.8% between 2025 and 2030. Some of the primary factors supporting this growth include the rising demand for remote healthcare services, large-scale penetration of connected home services, and high internet usage. In addition, the global adoption of smartphones, advancements in technology, and a surge in government initiatives to develop telehealth programs are also supporting market growth.
Since the cost of in-person healthcare provision is increasing in the country, telehealth presents a significant opportunity in the healthcare sector. According to McKinsey, around $250 billion of the present US healthcare spending can be virtualized. This includes training for medical professionals, regular check-in appointments for chronic diseases, psychiatric care, and more, all administered and accessed through each individual’s preferred device.
READ ALSO: 10 Best Mid Cap Biotech Stocks to Buy and 12 Best Diagnostics Stocks to Invest In Right Now.
Are Healthcare Stocks a Safe Haven Amid Tariff Turmoil?
Some experts view medical, healthcare, and big pharma stocks as immune from trade carnage, making them a safe haven amid the uncertainty brought about by Trump’s tariffs. Since Trump’s tariffs and macroeconomic uncertainties are causing significant market volatility, we discussed the potential of healthcare stocks as a safe haven amidst the ongoing turmoil in a recently published article on the 10 Best Medical Stocks to Buy According to Billionaires. Here is an excerpt from the article:
On April 8, Mizuho Securities America healthcare sector strategist Jared Holz opined that managed care, particularly the government-centric names, are somewhat safe as they are insulated from tariffs as US-based companies. In fact, the economic slowdown is actually beneficial for them as they want less utilization and less patience through the system, which is how they typically beat numbers. He said that managed care is having a good day, and investors might think about owning some companies in the sector.
It is, however, a relative game, as there are several different variables at play, and investors are essentially playing a game of hopscotch in an attempt to jump from one area to another, whether it’s tariffs, drug pricing, or other public policies. He painted a similar picture for medical device stocks that are more US-centric. These two sectors thus have less risk relative to others, making them somewhat of a safe haven.
Our Methodology
We sifted through stock screeners, financial media reports, and ETFs to compile a list of 25 telehealth stocks and chose the top 10 most popular among hedge funds as of Q4 2024. The list is ordered in ascending order of hedge fund sentiment. We sourced the hedge fund sentiment data from Insider Monkey’s database.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A row of shelves in a retail pharmacy, demonstrating the variety of drugs and over-the-counter products.
CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 74
CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) is a health solutions company that operates in four segments: healthcare benefits, health services, pharmacy & consumer wellness, and corporate/other. The company provides affordable, high-quality, and connected care solutions to its customers whenever and wherever they require it, including at-home health services and virtual services through their tablets, computers, or phones. Apart from being a prominent pharmacy chain, the company is one of the largest health insurers in the United States through its Aetna subsidiary’s operations, ranking it second on our list of the best telehealth stocks to invest in.
CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) has a diversified business, and its solid market presence across various segments gives it a competitive edge. In recent years, it has focused on primary care, expanding its portfolio through its Cordavis subsidiary, which markets and develops biosimilar drugs.
While the company’s future performance under a new CEO is uncertain, its total revenue for fiscal Q4 2024 increased to $97.7 billion, reflecting a 4.2% growth compared to the prior year and bringing optimism to its operations. Although the company has delivered underwhelming results in the past, it is undergoing several recent management changes and initiatives that are expected to bring it back on track.
On April 15, Morgan Stanley raised the firm’s price target on CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) to $80 from $68, keeping an Overweight rating on the shares. Patient Capital Management stated the following regarding CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“CVS Health Corporation (NYSE:CVS) struggled throughout the year following a number of disappointments related to their Medicare Advantage business. While this had a negative impact on the near-term financials, the issues are well understood, and changes are already being made for the 2025 program. We see a clear pathway to improving margins throughout 2025 in all areas of the business. Furthermore, the company has upgraded their management team promoting David Joyner to CEO and hiring former UnitedHealth Group executive Steven Nelson to run the managed care business. On a longer-term basis, we continue to think CVS has an attractive combination of assets owning a healthcare benefits business (Aetna), a pharmacy-benefits manager (Caremark), an in-home evaluation business (Signify Health) and in-home primary care business (Oak Street Health) supporting the industry transition to a value-based care model. As the company works to implement the turnaround, the company has an attractive dividend yield of 5.8%.”
Overall, CVS ranks 2nd on our list of the best telehealth stocks to buy right now. While we acknowledge the potential for CVS as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than CVS but trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
