A strong scan overall — most of the cut gained RSI ground and $TMO, $PFE, $DXCM, and $MRK all crossed into overbought — but two names are worth separating out from the crowd for opposite reasons: $ZTS is down 50% over the past year and 26% below its 200-day, the cleanest long-trend breakdown in this cut, while $ABT is the most overbought name in the group (RSI 77.8) despite being down 12% over the past year with a badly negative alpha — an overbought squeeze sitting on top of a weak durable trend, not confirmation of a healthy one. $ISRG remains the same relapse flagged in this session's biotech cut, now below its 200-day for a third straight scan.

Data as-of the 2026-08-21 close (Friday's settled session) — every name in this cut carries a fresh bar this scan.

Source: healthcare.json (the broader universe, not the narrower healthcare-scan.json cut — consistent with the prior scan). Prior scan: 2026-08-14-healthcare-scan.

The cohort gained RSI ground broadly this scan: $TMO (+11.4 points), $VRTX (+10.5), $MRNA (+15.0), $GH (+10.3), and $XLV (+6.1) all posted strong single-scan moves, and the overbought roster grew — $TMO, $PFE, $DXCM, and $MRK all crossed above RSI 70, joining $ABT, $VEEV, $AMGN, $MDT, and $MRNA. Most of that strength checks out on the long-trend numbers too: $MRK is up 77% over the year and 32% above its 200-day, $DXCM is up 15% and 33% above its 200-day, $AMGN is up 49% and 25% above.

$ABT is the one name in that overbought group that doesn't fit the pattern. Its RSI (77.8) ties $MRK for the cut's highest print, but its year-over-year return is negative (-11.6%) with an alpha of -33.5 — badly lagging the broader tape over the past year despite this week's strength. That combination — extended short-term, weak long-term — is a genuinely different situation from the rest of the overbought names, and it's worth treating $ABT's current strength as a squeeze inside a still-weak trend rather than confirmation of a healthy one. $VEEV shows a milder version of the same pattern: RSI 69.7 but down 12.2% over the past year with a negative alpha, even though its most recent quarter has been strong (+54.8% over three months).

$ZTS is the cleanest long-trend breakdown in the cut, and it isn't close: down 50.1% over the past year, 26.1% below its 200-day average, with an alpha of -71.9. RSI sits at 54.8 — mid-range, not obviously alarming on its own — which is exactly why the long-trend check matters here: a name can look unremarkable on the week while sitting on one of the worst durable trends in the entire watchlist. $ISRG remains the other genuine concern, now below its 200-day for a third straight scan (down 19.9%) with a negative year-over-year return — the same relapse pattern flagged in this session's biotech cut for the identical ticker.

$CVS and $UNH both look weak on RSI this scan (34.1 and 38.3) but pass the long-trend test cleanly: both sit above their 200-day average with positive year-over-year returns (+30.2% and +28.6%) and positive alpha. Read those two as deep pullbacks inside intact trends, not breakdowns — the opposite read from $ZTS and $ISRG despite superficially similar RSI levels.

• $MRNA posted the cut's most extreme move. Price ran from $63.32 to $145.13 (+129.2% for the week), RSI 56.6 → 71.6 — the same extreme move visible in this session's biotech cut for the identical ticker.
• $TMO crossed sharply into overbought. RSI 63.2 → 74.6 (+11.4), price up 7.0% for the week.
• $MRK extended further, now tied for the cut's highest RSI. RSI 69.0 → 77.8 (+8.8), price up 12.3% for the week, now up 77% over the year.
• $CVS fell back into the oversold band. RSI 40.4 → 34.1 (-6.3), price down 4.3% for the week — reversing the recovery flagged two scans ago, though still above its 200-day with a positive year.
• $ISRG relapsed again. RSI 56.0 → 47.6 (-8.4) — the same pattern flagged in this session's biotech scan, now below its 200-day for a third straight scan.
• $UNH weakened further. RSI 42.1 → 38.3 (-3.8), the cut's weakest print, though it remains above its 200-day with a positive year.
• $VRTX and $XLV both gained double-digit RSI points. VRTX: 56.5 → 67.0 (+10.5). XLV: 62.2 → 68.3 (+6.1).
• $DXCM and $PFE both crossed above RSI 70. DXCM: 67.7 → 70.1. PFE: 67.5 → 70.2.
• $MDT and $VEEV both cooled slightly, staying just below or near overbought. MDT: 71.4 → 68.4. VEEV: 73.1 → 69.7.
• No stale bars this scan — every name carries a fresh 2026-08-21 close.
• Universe unchanged. Same 22 tickers as the prior scan.

RSI measures how stretched a stock is over the past 14 sessions — under 30 signals oversold, over 70 signals overbought/extended. vs SMA20 is the price gap to the 20-day average. 1Y% and vs SMA200 are the two numbers that separate a genuine breakdown from a pullback: $CVS and $UNH both look weak on RSI this scan but are above their 200-day with a positive year — deep pullbacks, not breakdowns. $ZTS and $ISRG are below their 200-day with a negative year — genuine breakdowns, regardless of a mid-range RSI. $ABT is the trickiest read this scan: extended on RSI (77.8) but negative on the year — don't let the short-term strength stand in for the long-trend read.

None.

$CVS (34.1) — the only name in the band this scan, back in it after clearing it two scans ago. Above its 200-day with a positive year, so a deep pullback rather than a breakdown.

• Genuine breakdown (below 200-day, negative 1-year): $SYK, $ISRG, $ZTS — three names; $ZTS is the deepest of the group by a wide margin.
• Overbought but long-trend weak (the scan's key nuance): $ABT, $VEEV — both extended on RSI, both negative on the year. Treat the current strength as a squeeze, not a trend confirmation.
• Extreme, high-variance move: $MRNA — up 453% over the year on 4.4x average volume; a distinct situation from the rest of the cut.
• Genuinely healthy uptrend: $BIIB, $LLY, $JNJ, $GH, $GILD, $VRTX, $XLV, $DXCM, $PFE, $AMGN, $TMO, $MRK — twelve names, the bulk of the cut, all above their 200-day with a strongly positive year.
• Deep pullback but intact: $CVS, $UNH — weak RSI this scan, but above the 200-day with a positive year.

• $ABT is the cut's most overbought name yet down 12% over the year — does the trend catch up to the price, or does the RSI cool back down first?
• $ZTS remains 26% below its 200-day and down 50% over the year — does it find any floor, or does the breakdown deepen further?
• $ISRG is below its 200-day for a third straight scan (also flagged in this session's biotech cut) — does the relapse pattern finally break, or continue a fourth time?
• $MRNA's extreme move (up 129% in a single week) — does it consolidate into a real base, or does the move partially unwind?

• Tape data (price/RSI/SMA/returns): full-scan pre-computed summaries as of the 2026-08-21 close — healthcare.
• Prior scan for comparison: 2026-08-14-healthcare-scan.