A Record-Breaking MRI And A Stock About To Break Out

In Lisbon, cancer researchers recently switched on a record-breaking MRI.

It runs on an 18-tesla magnet, about 6 times the strength of a high-end hospital scanner, and it's the world's highest-field MRI of its type. Scientists at the Champalimaud Foundation are using it to study how cancer spreads and how the brain changes.

The company that built it is Bruker (BRKR). It makes the high-end tools scientists use to study life down to the molecule, and its customers range from drug developers to the chipmakers building hardware for AI.

Business is picking up. In the second quarter, orders in its main instruments business grew 10% organically, and Bruker booked more new business than it shipped. Management expects adjusted earnings to grow 15% to 17% this year.

Meanwhile, the stock has spent the past 4 months stuck in a wide range. I think that's about to change.

Healthcare and biotech stocks have a seasonally strong stretch from August through December. This year, that tailwind has company.

The industry is just starting to put AI to work. And as economic worries grow, investors are getting more defensive and moving money into health care.

Investors want stocks that are holding up better than the rest of the market. Healthcare has that, while big tech sees less buying.

Bruker is starting to show it, too. Bullish momentum has been building for the past 3 weeks, and volume is picking up as the stock pushes toward a breakout above $65.