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3 Top Medical Instruments Stocks Defying Tariff Pressure With GenAI
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Over the past year, the Medical Instruments industry has seen the transition of generative AI (genAI) from experimental to operational, reshaping diagnostics, patient monitoring and intervention workflows. A January 2025 report from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) highlights that genAI is already accelerating drug discovery and providing synthetic data solutions for algorithm training, reducing reliance on sensitive patient records. At the same time, regulatory bodies are adapting. The FDA is rolling out its Total Product Lifecycle (“TPLC”) oversight framework, applying risk-based guardrails and expanded post-market surveillance to ensure safety, transparency and data integrity.
Going by Grand View Research data, global AI in the healthcare market is projected to witness a CAGR of 38.5% from 2024 to 2030. However, geopolitical headwinds continue to weigh on the sector. Sweeping tariffs, supply chain bottlenecks, rising freight and raw material costs and healthcare staffing shortages have tightened margins across MedTech. A recent Investing News Network report shows concern over the fact that tariffs on copper (used extensively in medical imaging, device wiring and manufacturing) were raised to 50%. Amid this scenario, industry players like Teleflex (TFX - Free Report) , Integer Holdings (ITGR - Free Report) and Inogen (INGN - Free Report) have adapted well to changing consumer preferences and have been witnessing an uptrend in their stock prices.
Industry Description
The Zacks Medical - Instruments industry is highly fragmented, with participants engaged in research and development (R&D) in therapeutic areas. This FDA-regulated sector encompasses a vast array of products, from transcatheter valves and orthopedic devices to advanced imaging equipment and robotics. Recent trends highlight the integration of AI in diagnostics, the expansion of telemedicine, the rise of robotic-assisted surgeries and developments in 3D printing, continuous glucose monitoring systems, gene editing and nanomedicine. The emergence of generative AI is also reshaping MedTech, prompting the FDA to adopt a TPLC regulatory approach.
3 Trends Shaping the Future of the Medical Instruments Industry
GenAI Revolution: Over the past couple of years, there has been a significant increase in the adoption of genAI within the medical instruments space, with “hyper-personalization” being the primary feature of genAI-driven treatment options. GenAI, while analyzing vast and complex genetic and molecular data, is expected to help healthcare reach new heights in terms of predictive treatment options and smart hospital systems. Per a 2024 Global Market Insights report, global genAI in the healthcare market was valued at $1.8 billion in 2023 and is expected to witness a CAGR of 33.2% from 2024 to 2032. The rapid advancement in deep learning and natural language processing, increasing demand for personalized treatment, growing investment in healthcare AI and rising healthcare data volumes are major growth factors. Apart from this, the application of AI in the diagnostics space is growing enormously, with the market expected to witness a CAGR of 24.6% by 2034.
M&A Trend: The medical instruments space has been benefiting from the ongoing merger and acquisition (M&A) trend. It is a known fact that smaller and mid-sized industry players attempt to compete with the big shots through consolidation. The big players attempt to enter new markets through a niche product. Going by a J.P. Morgan report of 2025, in 2024, MedTech acquisition activity exceeded the previous two years in both deal count and total announced value. A total of 305 M&A transactions were announced, totaling over $63.1 billion for companies in medical devices, diagnostics, therapeutic digital health and commercial research tools, up from 134 deals in 2023. In 2025 so far, notable examples of M&A include UnitedHealth Group’s $3.3 billion acquisition of Amedisys, completed in August 2025. Other major deals include Stryker’s $4.9 billion purchase of Inari Medical, Thermo Fisher’s $4.1 billion acquisition of Solventum’s Purification & Filtration business and Boston Scientific’s $664 million acquisition of Bolt Medical.
Business Trend Disruption: Per IMF’s July 2025 World Economic Outlook, global growth is expected to remain lackluster over the next couple of years. At 3% in 2025 and 3.1% in 2026, the forecasts for growth are below the historical (2000–19) average of 3.7%. A few countries, especially low-income developing countries, have seen sizable downside growth revisions, often as a result of increased conflicts and recent tariff shocks. The good news is that global headline inflation is expected to decline to 4.2% in 2025 and to 3.6% in 2026, with advanced economies reaching the targets sooner than emerging market and developing economies. However, the IMF apprehends that the current policy-generated disruptions to the ongoing disinflation process could interrupt the pivot to easing monetary policy, with implications for fiscal sustainability and financial stability. Further, there are chances of higher nominal wage growth that, in some cases, reflects the catch-up of real wages, accompanied by weak productivity, which could make it difficult for firms to moderate price increases, especially when profit margins are already squeezed.
Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Dull Prospects
The Zacks Medical Instruments industry’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates gloomy near-term prospects. The industry, housed within the broader Zacks Medical sector, currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #155, which places it in the bottom 37% of 244 Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
We will present a few stocks that have the potential to outperform the market based on a strong earnings outlook. But it’s worth taking a look at the industry’s shareholder returns and current valuation first.
Industry Underperforms S&P 500, Outperforms Sector
The industry has underperformed the Zacks S&P 500 composite but outperformed the sector in the past year.
The industry has declined 15.4% compared with the broader sector’s decline of 17.4%. The S&P 500 has surged 16.9% in a year.
One-Year Price Performance
Industry's Current Valuation
On the basis of the forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E), which is commonly used for valuing medical stocks, the industry is currently trading at 28.46X compared with the broader industry’s 19.32X and the S&P 500’s 22.80X.
Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 40.60X, as low as 25.62X and at the median of 32.21X, as the charts show below.
Price-to-Earnings Forward Twelve Months (F12M)
Price-to-Earnings Forward Twelve Months (F12M)
3 Stocks to Buy Right Now
Teleflex: It is a global provider of medical technology products. The company primarily designs, develops, manufactures and supplies single-use medical devices used by hospitals and healthcare providers for common diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in critical care and surgical applications. Teleflex’s emphasis on product innovation and broader market reach is driving growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company’s 2025 sales is pegged at $3.33 billion, indicating a 9.3% rise from 2024. The consensus mark for TFX’s 2025 EPS is pegged at $14.06, indicating an increase of 0.4% from 2024.
Price and Consensus: TFX
Integer Holdings: Plano, TX-based Integer Holdings is a medical device contract development and manufacturing organization. Its strategic focus on portfolio optimization, including the divestiture of its Non-Medical business, supports its long-term inorganic growth plans. Integer Holdings has established a solid position in the MedTech industry and continues to invest in research and product development, which bodes well for innovation and future revenue growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Zacks Rank #2 company’s 2025 sales is pegged at $1.87 billion, indicating a 7.8% rise from 2024. The consensus mark for Integer Holdings’ 2025 EPS is pegged at $6.38, indicating an increase of 20.4% from 2024.
Price and Consensus: ITGR
Inogen: Goleta, CA-based Inogen is a medical technology company focused on respiratory health. It develops and markets portable oxygen concentrators (POCs) for long-term oxygen therapy, the Simeox airway clearance device and its proprietary Inogen One and Inogen Rove systems, which provide continuous supplemental oxygen by concentrating ambient air.
The consensus estimate for this Zacks Rank #2 company’s 2025 sales is pegged at $355.2 million, indicating a 5.8% rise from 2024. The consensus mark for Inogen’s 2025 EPS is pegged at a loss of 95 cents, indicating an improvement of 37.5% from the year-ago period figure.
Image: Bigstock
3 Top Medical Instruments Stocks Defying Tariff Pressure With GenAI
Over the past year, the Medical Instruments industry has seen the transition of generative AI (genAI) from experimental to operational, reshaping diagnostics, patient monitoring and intervention workflows. A January 2025 report from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) highlights that genAI is already accelerating drug discovery and providing synthetic data solutions for algorithm training, reducing reliance on sensitive patient records. At the same time, regulatory bodies are adapting. The FDA is rolling out its Total Product Lifecycle (“TPLC”) oversight framework, applying risk-based guardrails and expanded post-market surveillance to ensure safety, transparency and data integrity.
Going by Grand View Research data, global AI in the healthcare market is projected to witness a CAGR of 38.5% from 2024 to 2030. However, geopolitical headwinds continue to weigh on the sector. Sweeping tariffs, supply chain bottlenecks, rising freight and raw material costs and healthcare staffing shortages have tightened margins across MedTech. A recent Investing News Network report shows concern over the fact that tariffs on copper (used extensively in medical imaging, device wiring and manufacturing) were raised to 50%. Amid this scenario, industry players like Teleflex (TFX - Free Report) , Integer Holdings (ITGR - Free Report) and Inogen (INGN - Free Report) have adapted well to changing consumer preferences and have been witnessing an uptrend in their stock prices.
Industry Description
The Zacks Medical - Instruments industry is highly fragmented, with participants engaged in research and development (R&D) in therapeutic areas. This FDA-regulated sector encompasses a vast array of products, from transcatheter valves and orthopedic devices to advanced imaging equipment and robotics. Recent trends highlight the integration of AI in diagnostics, the expansion of telemedicine, the rise of robotic-assisted surgeries and developments in 3D printing, continuous glucose monitoring systems, gene editing and nanomedicine. The emergence of generative AI is also reshaping MedTech, prompting the FDA to adopt a TPLC regulatory approach.
3 Trends Shaping the Future of the Medical Instruments Industry
GenAI Revolution: Over the past couple of years, there has been a significant increase in the adoption of genAI within the medical instruments space, with “hyper-personalization” being the primary feature of genAI-driven treatment options. GenAI, while analyzing vast and complex genetic and molecular data, is expected to help healthcare reach new heights in terms of predictive treatment options and smart hospital systems. Per a 2024 Global Market Insights report, global genAI in the healthcare market was valued at $1.8 billion in 2023 and is expected to witness a CAGR of 33.2% from 2024 to 2032. The rapid advancement in deep learning and natural language processing, increasing demand for personalized treatment, growing investment in healthcare AI and rising healthcare data volumes are major growth factors. Apart from this, the application of AI in the diagnostics space is growing enormously, with the market expected to witness a CAGR of 24.6% by 2034.
M&A Trend: The medical instruments space has been benefiting from the ongoing merger and acquisition (M&A) trend. It is a known fact that smaller and mid-sized industry players attempt to compete with the big shots through consolidation. The big players attempt to enter new markets through a niche product. Going by a J.P. Morgan report of 2025, in 2024, MedTech acquisition activity exceeded the previous two years in both deal count and total announced value. A total of 305 M&A transactions were announced, totaling over $63.1 billion for companies in medical devices, diagnostics, therapeutic digital health and commercial research tools, up from 134 deals in 2023. In 2025 so far, notable examples of M&A include UnitedHealth Group’s $3.3 billion acquisition of Amedisys, completed in August 2025. Other major deals include Stryker’s $4.9 billion purchase of Inari Medical, Thermo Fisher’s $4.1 billion acquisition of Solventum’s Purification & Filtration business and Boston Scientific’s $664 million acquisition of Bolt Medical.
Business Trend Disruption: Per IMF’s July 2025 World Economic Outlook, global growth is expected to remain lackluster over the next couple of years. At 3% in 2025 and 3.1% in 2026, the forecasts for growth are below the historical (2000–19) average of 3.7%. A few countries, especially low-income developing countries, have seen sizable downside growth revisions, often as a result of increased conflicts and recent tariff shocks. The good news is that global headline inflation is expected to decline to 4.2% in 2025 and to 3.6% in 2026, with advanced economies reaching the targets sooner than emerging market and developing economies. However, the IMF apprehends that the current policy-generated disruptions to the ongoing disinflation process could interrupt the pivot to easing monetary policy, with implications for fiscal sustainability and financial stability. Further, there are chances of higher nominal wage growth that, in some cases, reflects the catch-up of real wages, accompanied by weak productivity, which could make it difficult for firms to moderate price increases, especially when profit margins are already squeezed.
Zacks Industry Rank Indicates Dull Prospects
The Zacks Medical Instruments industry’s Zacks Industry Rank, which is basically the average of the Zacks Rank of all the member stocks, indicates gloomy near-term prospects. The industry, housed within the broader Zacks Medical sector, currently carries a Zacks Industry Rank #155, which places it in the bottom 37% of 244 Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
We will present a few stocks that have the potential to outperform the market based on a strong earnings outlook. But it’s worth taking a look at the industry’s shareholder returns and current valuation first.
Industry Underperforms S&P 500, Outperforms Sector
The industry has underperformed the Zacks S&P 500 composite but outperformed the sector in the past year.
The industry has declined 15.4% compared with the broader sector’s decline of 17.4%. The S&P 500 has surged 16.9% in a year.
One-Year Price Performance
Industry's Current Valuation
On the basis of the forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E), which is commonly used for valuing medical stocks, the industry is currently trading at 28.46X compared with the broader industry’s 19.32X and the S&P 500’s 22.80X.
Over the past five years, the industry has traded as high as 40.60X, as low as 25.62X and at the median of 32.21X, as the charts show below.
Price-to-Earnings Forward Twelve Months (F12M)
Price-to-Earnings Forward Twelve Months (F12M)
3 Stocks to Buy Right Now
Teleflex: It is a global provider of medical technology products. The company primarily designs, develops, manufactures and supplies single-use medical devices used by hospitals and healthcare providers for common diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in critical care and surgical applications. Teleflex’s emphasis on product innovation and broader market reach is driving growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company’s 2025 sales is pegged at $3.33 billion, indicating a 9.3% rise from 2024. The consensus mark for TFX’s 2025 EPS is pegged at $14.06, indicating an increase of 0.4% from 2024.
Price and Consensus: TFX
Integer Holdings: Plano, TX-based Integer Holdings is a medical device contract development and manufacturing organization. Its strategic focus on portfolio optimization, including the divestiture of its Non-Medical business, supports its long-term inorganic growth plans. Integer Holdings has established a solid position in the MedTech industry and continues to invest in research and product development, which bodes well for innovation and future revenue growth.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for this Zacks Rank #2 company’s 2025 sales is pegged at $1.87 billion, indicating a 7.8% rise from 2024. The consensus mark for Integer Holdings’ 2025 EPS is pegged at $6.38, indicating an increase of 20.4% from 2024.
Price and Consensus: ITGR
Inogen: Goleta, CA-based Inogen is a medical technology company focused on respiratory health. It develops and markets portable oxygen concentrators (POCs) for long-term oxygen therapy, the Simeox airway clearance device and its proprietary Inogen One and Inogen Rove systems, which provide continuous supplemental oxygen by concentrating ambient air.
The consensus estimate for this Zacks Rank #2 company’s 2025 sales is pegged at $355.2 million, indicating a 5.8% rise from 2024. The consensus mark for Inogen’s 2025 EPS is pegged at a loss of 95 cents, indicating an improvement of 37.5% from the year-ago period figure.
You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Price and Consensus: INGN