Dental supply stock surges on RFK’s anti-fluoride stance, activist involvement

Dental care supplier Henry Schein advanced in Monday trading as investors bet that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, could recommend removing fluoride from the U.S. water system, a move that might result in a boom in dental visits.

Shares of Henry Schein shares jumped about 7.5%, notching its best day since 2022. Fellow dental product makers Dentsply Sirona and Envista also rose within the session.

Monday’s moves come as investors ready for public health changes under a second Trump administration. Kennedy posted on X before the presidential election this month that a “Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water.”

Fluoride has long been shown as an efficient method for fighting cavities. However the mineral has found itself at the middle of a nationwide fight that is led some local communities to finish programs centered on its insertion into public water.

While Kennedy might want to win Senate approval to take the job, market participants are already zeroing in on a gaggle of stocks that make dental hygiene products as potential beneficiaries of his policies. That is because taking fluoride out of water would actually put the tooth cleansing industry in higher demand as consumers look elsewhere to fight cavities, in response to firm Gordon Haskett.

“The thought here is RFK will bring to HHS a voice that’s in favor of reducing, or eliminating, the quantity of fluoridation that’s added to drinking water,” Don Bilson, Gordon Haskett’s head of event-driven research, told clients in a Monday note. “This may, in turn, result in an acceleration of tooth decay and more dental visits.”

Henry Schein shares took a leg up in afternoon trading following a Reuters report that activist investor Ananym Capital was calling for changes at the corporate. The newly launched firm, which is led by Charlie Penner and Alex Silver, believes the board needs to be shaken up and costs needs to be cut, amongst other ideas.

Henry Schein and other stocks within the space offer a vivid spot inside a sector that has largely struggled for the reason that election. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) has tumbled greater than 3% in November, putting it on course for its first three-month losing steak since last 12 months. By comparison, the broad S&P 500 has climbed greater than 3% within the month.

Gordon Haskett’s Bilson also identified that dental stocks were a number of the few “spared” health-focused equities as investors responded to the announcement of Kennedy’s nomination last week. Pharmaceutical names were under pressure given Kennedy’s status as a vaccine skeptic, while processed food stocks took successful as traders equipped for increased scrutiny of so-called junk food.

“It caused widespread selling across the healthcare landscape,” Bilson said of the choice to pick out Kennedy. “Drugmakers, contract research organizations, and health insurers all felt the quake. Fairly than stop there, the damage spilled into packaged foods. And promoting.”

While the market appears to be moving on Kennedy’s nomination, Bilson said that regulatory changes would likely take years to return into effect. He also noted that drinking water should fall more under the Environmental Protection Agency than Health and Human Services.