2 Dirt Cheap Healthcare Stocks to Buy in July

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Healthcare has become Wall Street’s bargain bin in 2026, and value hunters are starting to pay attention. Drug pricing reform, patent cliffs and post-COVID-19 hangovers have crushed multiples across Big Pharma, but the wreckage has created opportunities in two cash-generative franchises trading at single-digit forward earnings multiples. Heading into July, Novo Nordisk and Pfizer stand out as the cheapest large-cap names in the group, with concrete catalysts that could re-rate them before year-end.

Both report Q2 earnings in early August, which means the window to position before the next data point is narrow. Here’s the case for each.

Novo Nordisk (NVO)

Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) trades around $49 after a brutal 12-month derating that took the stock down 29% from a year ago. The 52-week range stretches from $35.12 to $71.80, and shares now sit well below the $47.32 consensus analyst target. Note for income investors: NVO is a Danish ADR, so dividends are subject to foreign withholding tax at the source before they hit your brokerage account.

The valuation is where this gets interesting. Novo trades at a trailing P/E of 12 and a forward P/E of 14, with EV/EBITDA at 9. For a business generating a 71% return on equity and a 62% operating margin, that is a fire-sale multiple.

The bull case rests on the Wegovy pill launch. CEO Mike Doustdar called it “the most efficacious GLP-1 tablet now used by more than one million patients since its January launch.” Q1 FY2026 results, reported May 6, showed the oral version generating $2.26 billion in its first quarter and capturing 65% of new US prescriptions in the category. Obesity care grew 22% at constant exchange rates, and management raised 2026 guidance. Free cash flow yield sits in the high teens, and the board funded a DKK 15 billion buyback through February 2027.

The risk: US pricing is the swing factor. The Most-Favored-Nation framework and planned ~50% Wegovy and ~35% Ozempic list price cuts effective January 2027 will compress cash flow. CER sales are still declining, and CagriSema missed its primary endpoint in the REDEFINE 4 obesity trial. Q2 results land Aug. 5, with consensus at 83 cents.

Pfizer (PFE)

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) trades around $23.80 with a forward P/E of just 8x, a trailing P/E of 19 and a dividend yield of 7.23%. The current quarterly payout of 43 cents per share cost the company $2.4 billion in Q1 alone, fully covered by free cash flow. Analyst target sits at $29.15.

The plain-language bull case: the COVID hangover is almost behind them, and the underlying business is growing again. Q1 FY2026 revenue came in at $14.451 billion, beating expectations and rising 5% year over year. Adjusted EPS of $0.75 marked the fifth consecutive consensus beat. Launched and acquired products grew 22% operationally, with Padcev up 39%, Nurtec up 41%, Eliquis up 13%, and Orgovyx up 43%.

Two specific catalysts matter. First, the Vyndamax patent settlement extends US exclusivity to June 2031, eliminating a feared cliff and providing visibility through the end of the decade. Second, Pfizer is teeing up roughly 20 pivotal studies in 2026, including obesity assets from the Metsera acquisition. CEO Albert Bourla said he is “particularly encouraged by what we’re seeing in oncology and obesity, two areas where I believe Pfizer is positioned to lead.” Add in a $7.2 billion cost-savings program targeted by 2027, and the margin story has a tailwind.

The risk: patent cliff and pricing policy. COVID-era franchises continued to roll over in Q1, with Comirnaty down 59% and Paxlovid down 63%. Generic and biosimilar competition is expected to subtract roughly $1.5 billion in revenue this year. Net debt to EBITDA at 3.26x leaves little slack, and management explicitly stated no share repurchases are anticipated in 2026. Full-year guidance was reaffirmed at $59.5 to $62.5 billion in revenue and $2.80 to $3.00 in adjusted EPS. Q2 results arrive pre-market on August 4, 2026, with consensus at $0.68.

What to Watch in July

Both stocks screen as deep value, but the catalysts diverge. Novo’s story hinges on whether Wegovy pill volume can outrun US price cuts. Pfizer’s hinges on pipeline conversion and oncology execution. With both companies reporting in the first week of August, July’s positioning window is short. Investors looking for cheap optionality on the GLP-1 franchise lean toward Novo. Income-focused buyers wanting a 7% yield backed by Eliquis, Vyndaqel, and a stretched but not broken balance sheet skew toward Pfizer.

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