Healthcare Tops S&P as Cardinal, J&J, Lilly Hit Records
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- Cardinal Health, Johnson & Johnson, and Eli Lilly all hit record closes Friday, with the healthcare sector gaining more than 7% for the week to top the S&P 500 leaderboard for June, ahead of industrials and financials.
- The healthcare rally reflected rotation out of AI stocks rather than any fundamental change in the healthcare names themselves, though the source notes healthcare lacks the AI-disruption overhang weighing on software.
- Cramer's Charitable Trust trimmed its Cardinal Health position on Thursday to lock in modest gains after battling the stock through much of the spring.
- Honeywell is set to break into two standalone companies next week, with shareholders receiving one share of Honeywell Aerospace (ticker: HONA) for every two Honeywell shares; the remaining Honeywell Technologies will then undergo a 1-for-2 reverse stock split.
- RBC Capital initiated coverage of Honeywell Aerospace on Friday with a buy-equivalent rating and a $300 price target, calling it positioned for strong growth and noting it trades at a discount to peer RTX on an EV-to-EBITDA basis.
- Nike is scheduled to report earnings Tuesday after the closing bell in what the source calls a "make-or-break quarter" for the athletic footwear company's status in the portfolio.
- The June nonfarm payrolls report is due Thursday instead of the usual Friday because the market is closed Friday in observance of the Independence Day holiday.
Why it matters: Healthcare's 7%+ weekly gain made it the top S&P 500 sector for June, beating industrials and financials, but the source attributes the move to rotation from AI rather than fundamental change — explicitly noting that software staged a similar late-May rally that proved short-lived, a hedge that tempers how durable this leadership looks.
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