Today we are featuring top-performing “Health" equity mutual funds, which primarily invest in equity securities of healthcare and related companies.

Investors can find such funds by checking out the entire list of the Zacks #1 Rank Health Equity Funds.

3 Robust Samples

Fidelity Select Medical Equipment & Systems (FSMEX) was incepted in April 1998. The investment seeks capital appreciation by investing in securities of healthcare companies.

The fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers and invest a significant percentage of assets in a single issuer. It is non-diversified.

The fund’s top holdings include Baxter International Inc. (BAX), Covidien Ltd. (COV) and Medtronic Inc. (MDT).

Evergreen Health Care A (EHABX) seeks long-term capital growth. It primarily invests in equity securities of issuers that derive more than 50% of their sales from products and services in healthcare.

The fund may invest

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Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") List today:

Achillion Pharmaceuticals Inc (ACHN) Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASX) Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA (BBV) Broadcom Corp (BRCM) CGI Group Inc (GIB) Covidien Ltd (COV) DeVry Inc (DV) eHealth Inc (EHTH) Furniture Brands International Inc (FBN) Horizon Bancorp (HBNC) ICU Medical Inc (ICUI) Ikanos Communications Inc (IKAN) Intellon Corp (ITLN) Kemet Corp (KEME) MarketAxess Holdings Inc (MKTX) Mercury Computer Systems Inc (MRCY) Oxigene Inc (OXGN) Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc (PEET) Shore Bancshares Inc (SHBI) Tupperware Brands Corp (TUP) ViewPoint Financial Group (VPFG) Zoran Corp (ZRAN) View the entire Zacks #1 Rank List.

Zacks Investment Research

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") List today:

AAON Inc (AAON) Belo Corp (BLC) Cadence Pharmaceuticals Inc (CADX) Caliper Life Sciences Inc (CALP) Covidien Ltd (COV) HLS Systems International Ltd (HOLI) HMS Holdings Corp (HMSY) Macrovision Solutions Corp (MVSN) Majesco Entertainment Co (COOL) NaviSite Inc (NAVI) Osteologix Inc (OLGX) Papa John's Int'l Inc (PZZA) Prudential Public Limited Co (PUK) Publicis Groupe SA (PUBGY) Reed Elsevier NV (ENL) Stericycle, Inc (SRCL) Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX) Analogic Corp (ALOG) Centennial Communications Corp (CYCL) Dolan Media Co (DM) Endologix Inc (ELGX) HearUSA Inc (EAR) Lender Processing Services Inc (LPS) Stillwater Mining Co (SWC) Telstra Corporation Ltd (TLSYY) View the entire Zacks #1 Rank List.

Zacks ...

Hangar Orthopedic Group, Inc. (HGR) shares have continued to advanced since originally being featured as a momentum stock on Aug 19.

The recent surge comes on the heels of Hangar's acquisition of 3 patient care centers in Florida, New York and Ohio, announced on Sep 11. The three clinics produce annual revenue of $8.3 million and are expected to immediately contribute earnings when integrated.

Analysts remain bullish on Hangar, with the next-year estimate projecting 13% earnings growth. Take a look at the chart below. Read Aug 19 analysis.

Updates to Previous Momentum Zacks Rank Buy Stocks

Cedar Fair, LP's (FUN) share price has been rallying since mid July, recently helped by the company's solid second-quarter results in which actual earnings came in far ahead of analyst estimates. Read Full Article.

Covidien Ltd. (COV) has

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Covidien Ltd. (COV) has been driving its revenue higher from robust sales in its international markets, which all recorded double-digit sales growth in the most recently reported quarterly results. The next-year estimate is bullish, and the company's stock price is in rally mode, hitting a new 52-week and all-time high within the last 3 days.

Covidien Ltd. develops and manufactures healthcare products for home and clinical applications worldwide. The company's four divisions are Medical Devices, Pharmaceutical Products, Imaging Solutions and Medical Supplies. Covidien was incorporated in 2000, has a market cap of $28 billion and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Second-Quarter Results

Covidien stepped up and reported solid second-quarter results on Aug 5, driven by strong growth in three of the company's four primary business segments. Sales were up 14% from last year, to $2.6 billion. When removing one-time items, operating income for the quarter totaled

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Covidien Ltd. (COV) is trading close to an all-time high of $55.69 after analysts said the company’s recent strategic moves should boost its topline. The health care products company expects sales to grow by 8 percent to 11 percent in 2008. Analysts have raised their 2008 EPS estimates by 5 cents to $0.82. At a Price/Sales multiple of 0.66, this Zacks #1 stock is still cheap.

Covidien’s management has played a key role in improving the company’s profitability by divesting non-core assets and acquiring reasonable bolt-on technologies. In the third quarter, the company beat market expectations by posting a profit of $269 million, compared with a year-ago loss of $1.1 billion. The management is also investing in research and development and trying to pare down its debts.

"COV" Free Stock Analysis: Buy? Sell? Hold?Zacks Investment Research

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") List today:

Aeropostale Inc (ARO) AMCOL International Corp (ACO) Atlas Pipeline Partners LP (APL) Babcock & Brown Air Ltd (FLY) Bank of Marin Bancorp (BMRC) Comverse Technology Inc (CMVT) Covidien Ltd (COV) Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc (BAGL) Gushan Environmental Energy Ltd (GU) Hewitt Associates Inc (HEW) Hutchison Whampoa Ltd (HUWHY) ICON plc (ICLR) Kendle International Inc (KNDL) Leggett & Platt Inc (LEG) Lexmark International Inc (LXK) Martek Biosciences Corp (MATK) Massey Energy Company (MEE) Planar Systems Inc (PLNR) Rofin-Sinar Technologies (RSTI) Shinhan Financial Group Co Ltd (SHG) Skilled Healthcare Group Inc (SKH) St. Jude Medical Inc (STJ) Telemig Celular Participacoes SA (TMB) Tetra Tech Inc (TTEK) Tredegar Corporation (TG) Valmont Industries ...

Here are the stocks added to the Zacks #1 Rank ("strong buy") List today:

Aeropostale Inc (ARO) AMCOL International Corp (ACO) Atlas Pipeline Partners LP (APL) Babcock & Brown Air Ltd (FLY) Bank of Marin Bancorp (BMRC) Comverse Technology Inc (CMVT) Covidien Ltd (COV) Einstein Noah Restaurant Group Inc (BAGL) Gushan Environmental Energy Ltd (GU) Hewitt Associates Inc (HEW) Hutchison Whampoa Ltd (HUWHY) ICON plc (ICLR) Kendle International Inc (KNDL) Leggett & Platt Inc (LEG) Lexmark International Inc (LXK) Martek Biosciences Corp (MATK) Massey Energy Company (MEE) Planar Systems Inc (PLNR) Rofin-Sinar Technologies (RSTI) Shinhan Financial Group Co Ltd (SHG) Skilled Healthcare Group Inc (SKH) St. Jude Medical Inc (STJ) Telemig Celular Participacoes SA (TMB) Tetra Tech Inc (TTEK) Tredegar Corporation (TG) Valmont Industries ...