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Is T. Rowe Price Health Sciences (PRHSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
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On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with T. Rowe Price Health Sciences (PRHSX - Free Report) is one possibility. PRHSX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
PRHSX is a part of the T. Rowe Price family of funds, a company based out of Baltimore, MD. Since T. Rowe Price Health Sciences made its debut in December of 1995, PRHSX has garnered more than $17.21 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Ziad Bakri who has been in charge of the fund since April of 2016.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 11.17%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.08%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. Over the past three years, PRHSX's standard deviation comes in at 18.49%, compared to the category average of 17.1%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.2% compared to the category average of 15.91%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.86, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. With a positive alpha of 1.62, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, PRHSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 1.30%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PRHSX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, T. Rowe Price Health Sciences ( PRHSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about PRHSX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.
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Is T. Rowe Price Health Sciences (PRHSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?
On the lookout for a Mutual Fund Equity Report fund? Starting with T. Rowe Price Health Sciences (PRHSX - Free Report) is one possibility. PRHSX possesses a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 1 (Strong Buy), which is based on nine forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.
History of Fund/Manager
PRHSX is a part of the T. Rowe Price family of funds, a company based out of Baltimore, MD. Since T. Rowe Price Health Sciences made its debut in December of 1995, PRHSX has garnered more than $17.21 billion in assets. The fund is currently managed by Ziad Bakri who has been in charge of the fund since April of 2016.
Performance
Investors naturally seek funds with strong performance. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 11.17%, and is in the top third among its category peers. Investors who prefer analyzing shorter time frames should look at its 3-year annualized total return of 10.08%, which places it in the middle third during this time-frame.
When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. Over the past three years, PRHSX's standard deviation comes in at 18.49%, compared to the category average of 17.1%. Over the past 5 years, the standard deviation of the fund is 18.2% compared to the category average of 15.91%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.
Risk Factors
Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 0.86, which means it is hypothetically less volatile than the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. With a positive alpha of 1.62, managers in this portfolio are skilled in picking securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.
Expenses
As competition heats up in the mutual fund market, costs become increasingly important. Compared to its otherwise identical counterpart, a low-cost product will be an outperformer, all other things being equal. Thus, taking a closer look at cost-related metrics is vital for investors. In terms of fees, PRHSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 0.75% compared to the category average of 1.30%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, PRHSX is actually cheaper than its peers.
While the minimum initial investment for the product is $2,500, investors should also note that each subsequent investment needs to be at least $100.
Bottom Line
Overall, T. Rowe Price Health Sciences ( PRHSX ) has a high Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively strong performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, this fund looks like a good potential choice for investors right now.
Want even more information about PRHSX? Then go over to Zacks.com and check out our mutual fund comparison tool, and all of the other great features that we have to help you with your mutual fund analysis for additional information. And don't forget, Zacks has all of your needs covered on the equity side too! Make sure to check out Zacks.com for more information on our screening capabilities, Rank, and all our articles as well.