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Following President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA), taxpayer-funded healthcare premiums rose by $5,416 between 2014 and 2026, according to data from the Paragon Health Institute. Nearly 90.3% of that increase fell on taxpayers, a burden further exacerbated by mass immigration that continues to strain the system.

Ironically, while the ACA failed to live up to its promise of affordability, it proved bullish for healthcare and insurance stocks. That trend resurfaced last week after President Trump announced his new TrumpRx platform, prompting us to highlight Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) as a strong candidate for pharma exposure.

Pfizer secured a privileged exemption from import tariffs for three years in exchange for cutting certain domestic drug prices. This deal, alongside TrumpRx referment initiative, reinvigorated the broader healthcare sector. Since late September, the iShares Global Healthcare ETF (IXJ) has climbed roughly 7%.

With that momentum in mind, let’s examine two other healthcare stocks that have long-term breakthrough potential.

Tempus AI Inc. (Nasdaq: TEM)

Chicago-based Tempus AI has been this year’s standout performer, with its stock soaring 201% year-to-date, outpacing even the red-hot semiconductor sector. And there’s a good reason for that momentum. According to forecasts by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), global cancer incidence is expected to surge 77% by 2050.

This looming “cancer wave” demands innovation that goes beyond conventional therapies toward personalized medicine, and that’s where Tempus AI shines. The company specializes in genomics and diagnostic testing, sequencing tumor DNA and RNA, boosted by AI-based pattern discernment for personalized cancer treatment.

Beyond its per-test revenue, Tempus AI also licenses anonymized genomic data to pharmaceutical partners such as GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca. This dual-revenue model places the company squarely in the center of data economics and precision oncology.

Unlike traditional biotech firms that hinge on risky drug pipelines and regulatory FDA hurdles, Tempus AI’s business model is scalable and resilient. The more testing the company performs, the stronger its machine learning feedback loop becomes. In turn, this deepens its competitive moat and improves diagnostic accuracy.

In its Q2 2025 earnings report (for the quarter ending June, released in early August), Tempus AI reported a 90% year-over-year revenue increase to $314.6 million. Even more impressive, its gross margin expanded from 45.5% in 2024 to 62%, resulting in $195 million in gross profit, a 160% jump from the year-ago quarter.

The company now appears on track to achieve positive adjusted EBITDA by year-end.

However, with TEM shares currently trading at $102.30, the stock has already surpassed the Wall Street Journal’s consensus ceiling price target of $100 per share. The average target of $78.58 suggests limited near-term upside, so investors may wish to await the next market correction before initiating new positions.

In short, TEM stock should be kept on a prioritized watch list.

CRISPR Therapeutics AG

If Tempus AI is maximizing genomics data revenue, CRISPR Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CRSP) is pursuing the other side of the biotech frontier – monetizing direct genetic intervention. Specifically, the Swiss company uses CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to target specific DNA sections that trigger ailments.

Ever since the discovery of DNA double helix structure by Watson and Crick, this has been the holy grail of medicine. Using the Cas9 enzyme to serve as molecular scissors, the company employs two approaches. One approach is outside the body (ex vivo) by extracting cells, editing them in a lab, and then infusing them back into the patient.

The other approach is inside the body (in vivo) wherein lipid nanoparticles deliver CRISPR components to correct genetic defects such as muscular dystrophy, type 1 diabetes, cystic fibrosis or refractory hypertension. In oncology, CRISPR also has potential to engineer immune cells to minimize immune system rejection and better target cancer cells.

So far, the company delivered one approved therapy (CASGEVY) for sickle cell disease, while running 5 clinical and 10 preclinical programs.

For the immediate CASGEVY deployment, the company can address the needs of ~60,000 eligible patients. Although yet to reach the profitability zone, with net loss of $208.6 million in Q2, CRISPR has plenty of runway with $1.5 billion marketable securities against $318.6 million in total liabilities.

Year-to-date, CRSP stock is up nearly 83.4%, with an average 52-week stock price of $47.17 per share. At the current price level of $76.02, the stock is closely aligned with the average CRSP price target of 78.48. Unsurprisingly, the exceptional potential for gene-editing is giving the company an equally high price ceiling target of $268 per share.

New investors may find that the real question isn’t whether CRISPR can rise further, but how quickly its breakthroughs can justify the next hype cycle. This makes it quite similar to sentiment-driven Intuitive Machines (Nasdaq: LUNR).

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