
iQoncept Despite a disappointing start to 2023, the healthcare sector has several promising industries waiting to outperform this year, Goldman Sachs said in a recent report after the bank concluded its annual healthcare conference in Dana Point, California, last month. The event, held for the 44th time with the participation of more than 200 companies, provides a snapshot of mid-year sentiment in the healthcare sector. Healthcare stocks in the S&P 500 have lost ~5% this year, becoming the third worst-performing sector in the benchmark index. According to Asad Haider, head of Goldman’s healthcare research, the sector recorded one of the lowest first-half performances in at least three decades this year. He attributes the underperformance to regulatory issues, growth concerns, macro rotations, and investors’ preference for large-cap tech stocks. In a small investor survey conducted by Goldman Sachs in conjunction with the event, only 46% expected healthcare to outperform the S&P 500 in H2 2023, while the rest projected an in-line or underperforming sector. “That said, there were several pockets of optimism,” the analyst added, noting that participants in the survey voted MedTech as the subsector most likely to outperform in H2 2023, given the robust procedure volumes seen in Q2.…