Piper Sandler published a refreshed ranking of its favored medical technology stocks, reaffirming Solventum Corporation (NYSE:SOLV) as the top pick amid recent volatility in the shares. The investment bank emphasized that valuation differences and execution trajectories are the primary discriminators across its preferred list, and it singled out companies positioned for multiple expansion and upward revisions to analyst estimates.
Top-ranked names and rationale
1. Solventum Corporation (NYSE:SOLV) - Overweight, $98 price target
Piper Sandler kept Solventum at the lead for a second consecutive ranking. The firm argues that the market reaction to the company’s exposure to healthcare IT has been overstated, noting that the hospital information systems (HIS) business represents 25% of Solventum’s revenue and about 30% of EBIT. Trading at roughly 10 times next-twelve-months price-to-earnings, Solventum sits among the more cheaply valued medical technology names in the bank’s coverage.
The research note forecasts ongoing quarterly beats and upward revisions, with revenue expected to accelerate from new product introductions and mergers and acquisitions. Margin improvements are anticipated as the company exits transitional service agreements and progresses through cost transformation initiatives.
2. Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) - Overweight, $106 price target
Merit Medical retains the second slot despite recent softness in the shares and lighter original equipment manufacturer (OEM) performance reflected in fourth quarter 2025 and first quarter 2026 estimates. Piper Sandler views the company’s underlying business as fundamentally sound, pointing out that the stock has fallen to multi-year valuation lows not seen since the third quarter of 2019.
The firm expects Merit to continue producing mid-single-digit-plus organic growth and sees management’s conservative guidance approach as creating recurring opportunities for beats and raises over the course of the year.
3. ICU Medical (NASDAQ:ICUI) - Overweight, $178 price target
ICU Medical moved up from fourth to third in Piper Sandler’s rankings. The bank highlighted a 12-to-18-month setup tied to the Plum Solo/Duo product launches, which are expected to carry accretive average selling prices and improved margins. Visibility into gross margin percentage gains and free cash flow growth has increased, and the recent removal of an FDA warning letter enhances the prospects for active portfolio management.
Piper Sandler also flagged that as balance sheet leverage declines, potential share repurchase programs may come into view.
4. Sotera Health (NASDAQ:SHC) - Overweight, $24 price target
Sotera rose from sixth to fourth in the preferred list. The research team believes concerns tied to energy prices are overstated and expects forthcoming legal developments linked to an executive order to be positive. Growth at Sterigenics appears poised to pick up as newly added capacity and additional customers begin operations, which could help close the valuation gap with peer STERIS.
5. STERIS (NYSE:STE) - Overweight, $300 price target
STERIS slipped from third to fifth place after a share decline following third fiscal quarter results amid investor concern about the pace of sterilization growth recovery and energy cost effects. Despite that pullback, Piper Sandler characterizes the company’s fundamentals as solid, citing healthy procedural volumes and steady mid-to-high-single-digit growth in its healthcare and applied sterilization technologies segments.
6. Henry Schein (NASDAQ:HSIC) - Overweight, $99 price target
Henry Schein is the newest inclusion on Piper Sandler’s preferred roster. The bank pointed to execution that has outperformed both guidance and consensus expectations, and flagged meaningful earnings-per-share upside potential through share buybacks and other value-creation measures. Those dynamics, the firm says, could allow the stock to outperform regardless of the broader dental market’s trajectory.
Context and takeaway
Piper Sandler’s preferred list emphasizes a mix of valuation opportunity, product and capacity catalysts, and execution that could lead to outperformance. The research highlights both exposure-specific risks that may be overemphasized by the market - such as healthcare IT exposure at Solventum and energy-price concerns at Sotera - and near-term operational drivers like new product introductions, margin programs and capacity coming online.