XLV · IBB · JNJ · PFE · UNH · Healthcare Sector Strategy
Apollo trades the healthcare sector — from pharmaceutical giants like Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, to medical device makers like Medtronic, to health insurers like UnitedHealth. This backtest uses real historical price data across all healthcare subsectors. The simulation includes FDA calendar awareness — showing how positions are managed around approval events based on your configured biotech approach.
Biotech Risk NoticeIf your configuration includes biotech exposure, individual stocks can move 30–60% in a single day on FDA announcements. The backtest reflects these events. Simulated results may differ from live trading, especially around binary catalyst events.
Initializing...
| Period | Return | vs XLV | Trades | Win Rate | Top Performer | Max Drawdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2024 | +5.2% | +2.4% | 10 | 80% | ABBV +8.1% | -2.2% |
| Nov 2024 | +3.8% | +1.6% | 9 | 78% | UNH +6.4% | -1.9% |
| Dec 2024 | +7.4% | +3.8% | 13 | 77% | MRNA +18% | -2.8% |
| Jan 2025 | -2.1% | -0.8% | 8 | 50% | MDT +3.2% | -5.1% |
| Feb 2025 | +6.1% | +2.8% | 11 | 73% | VRTX +12.4% | -2.4% |
| Mar 2025 | +5.4% | +2.2% | 10 | 80% | SYK +7.8% | -1.8% |
How Apollo distributes capital across healthcare subsectors.
How Apollo manages positions around FDA decision dates.
Healthcare blue-chips pay strong dividends — how to handle them.
Apollo pauses for the day if this threshold is hit.
Fine-tune Apollo's technical parameters. Healthcare stocks require different settings for stable pharma vs volatile biotech — Apollo uses separate rules for each subsector.
Defaults are calibrated for daily charts. Biotech positions use tighter stops and faster EMAs than blue-chip pharma.
Large-cap pharma stocks rarely reach extreme lows. 36 catches meaningful pullbacks in JNJ, PFE, and ABBV without waiting for rare capitulations.
Pharma stocks can sustain overbought levels during strong patent cycles or positive trial results. 70 allows the trend to run fully.
A 12-day EMA on healthcare daily charts captures medium-term momentum while ignoring single-day FDA-driven spikes.
The 26-day EMA represents roughly 5 trading weeks — ideal for identifying sustained trends in the healthcare sector.
Blue-chip pharma stocks are stable — a 4.5% stop provides adequate protection while avoiding normal daily volatility noise.
Biotech requires a wider stop — normal pre-announcement volatility can easily hit a tight stop. 8% avoids premature exits while still protecting capital.
4 positions allows Apollo to hold representation across pharma, devices, biotech, and insurance simultaneously.
1.15x volume is sufficient for healthcare — the sector has consistent institutional ownership and predictable volume patterns.
Number of days before a known FDA decision date when Apollo exits or avoids new biotech positions. 2 days avoids most pre-announcement volatility.