Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Among Healthcare's Biggest Movers on November 16, 2012

The market is currently down, with the Nasdaq slipping 1%, the S&P 500 declining 0.6% and the Dow falling 0.8%. 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 0.2% on a bad day for the market overall. The biggest movers in the sector are currently:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Schiff Nutrition International (NYSE:SHF)	$741.4 million	+28.8%
Cyberonics (Nasdaq:CYBX)	$1.29 billion	+8.6%
Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE:BKD)	$2.65 billion	+8.2%
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:REGN)	$13.76 billion	+7.5%
Sirona Dental Systems (Nasdaq:SIRO)	$3.14 billion	+7.4%
Sarepta Therapeutics (Nasdaq:SRPT)	$662.3 million	-4.1%
HMS (Nasdaq:HMSY)	$2.03 billion	-3.8%

Broker Summary: Fidelity Online Brokerage

Schiff Nutrition International (NYSE:SHF) is currently at $43.69 per share after a dramatic increase of 28.8%. The company's volume is currently 778,012 shares for the day, 4.6 times the current three-month average.

After an increase of 8.6%, Cyberonics (Nasdaq:CYBX) has reached a current price of $50.60. The company's volume for the day so far is 416,546 shares.

Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE:BKD) is at $23.36 per share after an increase of 8.2%. At 1.9 million shares, the company's volume so far today is 1.2 times the average daily volume.

Increasing 7.5%, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq:REGN) is trading at $153.12 per share. The company's volume for the day so far is 579,910 shares.

Sirona Dental Systems (Nasdaq:SIRO) is currently trading at $61.28 per share, a 7.4% increase. So far today, the company's volume is 865,155 shares, 2.4 times its current three-month average.

Sarepta Therapeutics (Nasdaq:SRPT) is down 4.1% to reach $24.96 per share. This morning, the company is trading a volume of 393,894 shares.

HMS (Nasdaq:HMSY) has fallen 3.8% and is currently trading at $22.50 per share. At 429,490 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.2 times the current daily average.

The Bottom Line On any given day, a particular stock may see positive or negative change in its share price. It is important to weigh current activity against historical performance when making any investment decisions. Tools like valuation ratios and profit margins, however, are only as useful as the context you put them in; remember to take historical data and competitor performance into account.