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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Jounce Therapeutics, BioDelivery Sciences International, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Osmotica Pharmaceuticals and Select Medical

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – November 22, 2019 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Jounce Therapeutics Inc. , BioDelivery Sciences International Inc. , Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc. (IRWD - Free Report) , Osmotica Pharmaceuticals plc and Select Medical Holdings Corp. (SEM - Free Report) .

Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:

Healthcare Sector Outperforming: 5 Best Stocks, Quarter to Date

Healthcare, which registered its second-worst performance among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors this year, bounced back with an outperformance starting the fourth quarter. This is primarily owing to successive positive news including trial results, deal activities and better-than-expected earnings. Further, uncertainty over trade lent a boost to the sector given its non-cyclical nature, which in turn, provides a cushion to its portfolio.

Moreover, the sector is clearly benefiting from encouraging trends including new drug approvals, an accelerated pace of innovation, promising drug launches, growing importance of biosimilars, cost-cutting efforts, an aging population, expanding insurance coverage, the rising middleclass, insatiable demand for new drug, and an ever-increasing health care spending (read: Top & Flop ETFs Halfway Through Q4).

Additionally, the health care sector is placed at the top 7% of 16 Zacks sectors with more than 80% of the industries having a top Zacks Industry Rank. This indicates optimism surrounding the sector.

In light of this, we choose five healthcare stocks that are leading the market so far this quarter. These could be excellent plays for investors if similar trends continue.

Jounce Therapeutics Inc. — Up 49.9%

This clinical-stage immunotherapy company is engaged in developing therapies, which enable the immune system to attack tumors. The stock has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and a VGM Score of B. It has a market cap of $170.5 million. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

BioDelivery Sciences International Inc. — Up 49.9%

It is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of treatments in the areas of pain management and drug addiction. With a market cap of $550.6 million, the stock has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of B.

Ironwood Pharmaceuticals Inc. — Up 37.5%

This commercial biotechnology company is engaged in research, development and commercialization of human therapeutic products. It has a Zacks Rank #1 and a VGM Score of B. The stock has a market cap of $1.8 billion (read: Biotech ETFs in Focus on Impressive Q3 Earnings Results).

Osmotica Pharmaceuticals plc — Up 31.5%

This biopharmaceutical company offers tablets, dietary supplements and drugs for the treatment of women's health. With a market cap of $275.6 million, it has a Zacks Rank #2 and a VGM Score of A.

Select Medical Holdings Corp. — Up 28.8%

This company operates critical illness recovery hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient rehabilitation clinics and occupational health centers in the United States. The stock has a Zacks Rank of 1 and a VGM Score of A. It has a market cap of $2.9 billion.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.


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