Express Scripts and More Big Movers in Healthcare on November 29, 2012

On a good day for the market, the Nasdaq is trading up 0.5%, the S&P 500 has moved up 0.5% and the Dow has risen 0.4%. The healthcare sector is the category of stocks relating to medical and healthcare goods or services. This sector includes hospital management firms, health maintenance organizations (HMOs), biotechnology and a variety of medical products. Stocks in the healthcare sector are often considered to be defensive because the products and services are essential. Even during economic downturns, people will still require medical aid and medicine to overcome illness. Having a consistent demand for goods and services makes this sector less sensitive to business cycle fluctuations.

The Healthcare sector (XLV) is up 0.7%, outperforming the market overall. The biggest movers in the sector so far are:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:REGN)	$16.84 billion	+5.9%
HeartWare International (Nasdaq:HTWR)	$1.18 billion	+5.3%
Magellan Health Services (Nasdaq:MGLN)	$1.38 billion	+4%
Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS)	$4.24 billion	+2.4%
IDEXX Laboratories (Nasdaq:IDXX)	$5.14 billion	+2.3%
Express Scripts (Nasdaq:ESRX)	$41.87 billion	+2%
Owens & Minor, Inc (NYSE:OMI)	$1.83 billion	-1.8%

Beginner's Guide To NinjaTrader Trading Software

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:REGN) is at $185.23 per share after an increase of 5.9%. This morning, 746,235 shares have been traded, more than yesterday's 425,244 shares.

HeartWare International (Nasdaq:HTWR) is currently trading at $79.81 per share, a 5.3% increase. So far today, 195,455 shares have changed hands. This is consistent with its current three-month average.

Magellan Health Services (Nasdaq:MGLN) has moved up 4% and is currently trading at $52.13 per share. At 146,362 shares, the company's volume so far today is 1.1 times the average daily volume.

Universal Health Services (NYSE:UHS) is up 2.4% to reach a current price of $44.56 per share. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 281,427 shares.

IDEXX Laboratories (Nasdaq:IDXX) is currently trading at $93.52 per share, a 2.3% increase. At 80,698 shares, the company's volume so far today is which is likely to result in less activity than yesterday's volume of 392,707 shares.

Rising 2%, Express Scripts (Nasdaq:ESRX) is currently trading at $53.61 per share. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 1.9 million shares. This is 0.2 times the current three-month average.

Falling 1.8%, Owens & Minor, Inc (NYSE:OMI) is currently at a share price of $27.99. The company's volume is currently one million shares for the day, 1.9 times its current daily average.

The Bottom Line On any given day, a particular stock may see positive or negative change in its share price. Paying close attention to the previous ratios will help you identify key times to adjust your strategy. However, these fundamental metrics must be analyzed with historic data, industry information in addition to firm specific financial statements.