8. Becton Dickinson and Company (NYSE:BDX)
Current Stock Price as of Writing: $179.23
Pharmacy automation provides a different route into healthcare robotics.
Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE: BDX), widely known as BD, is not primarily a surgical robot maker. Its robotics business addresses the work behind patient care: storing, managing and dispensing medicines. That may sound less exciting than an operating-room robot, but hospital and pharmacy labor demands give automation a practical commercial purpose.
On September 14, Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE: BDX) announced that Fairview Health Services became the first U.S. health system to deploy its Vmax 160 pharmacy automation robot. The system is designed for high-volume outpatient pharmacy operations handling specialty therapies and refrigerated medicines. That is a concrete deployment, rather than a product concept waiting for its first customer.
For a stock buyer, the trade-off is diversification. Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE: BDX) offers an established medical technology business, but pharmacy robotics represents only part of it. Strong robot sales alone are unlikely to determine where the entire stock goes next.
