Healthcare and medical equipment have been performing well. This trend should continue since there will be an average of 10,000 Baby Boomers retiring per day over the next decade. As this generation ages, they're going to require more medical attention. The downside is that healthcare and medical equipment stocks wouldn't be capable of withstanding a downturn in the broader market. However, since the trend will continue on Main Street, it would only be a matter of time before these categories rebound. Therefore, there are two ways to approach them. (For more, see: Investing in Medical Equipment Companies.)

One, begin investing incrementally now saving the majority of your capital for cheaper prices. If higher interest rates at some point in the future don't lead to a bear market and these categories continue their upward trend, you will still have a small win on your hands. Two, keep the powder dry. (For more, see: How Interest Rates Affect the Stock Market.)

The stocks covered below stem from a motif, which can be found here. This motif has appreciated 26% over the past year. It's low on the volatility scale, but high on the valuation scale. In most cases, I'll dig into Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings to find clues, but since there are so many stocks covered here, I took a different approach which is based on fundamentals. This will allow you to choose which stocks to research further. (For more, see: How Motif Investments Works: Risks & Rewards.)

Below, you will find different categories and key metrics, which include revenue and net income performance over the past three years, debt-to-equity ratio, operation cash flow (OCF) generation over the past 12 months, short position, average daily trading volume, three month performance and dividend yield.

For revenue and net income, we're looking for consistent growth over the past three years. A Y indicates that the company has consistently grown in that area over the past three years (top line or bottom line). For debt-to-equity ratio, ideally, you want to see a number south of 1.00. Operational cash flow generation is tricky because a lot depends on the size of the company. For simplicity purposes, look for positive cash flow generation. A high short position usually indicates a lot of risk because big money is betting against the company for one reason or another. A company with a short position of 2% or lower usually indicates more safety. In regards to average daily trading volume, one million shares or more is highly liquid, and 100,000 shares traded daily should be the cutoff. The three month performance gives us a general idea whether or not there is still high demand for the stock (momentum). And a dividend yield is a bonus. (For more, see: Short Interest: What it Tells Us.)

All numbers as of May 21, 2015.

Revenue

Net Income

D/E Ratio

OCF

Short Position

Average Volume

3-Month Performance

Dividend Yield

MDT

Y

N

1.43

$4.32 Billion

1.50%

5,339,650

- 0.81%

1.60%

SYK

Y

N

0.42

$1.95 Billion

1.00%

1,288,830

0.95%

1.50%

BDX

Y

N

2.00

N/A

2.10%

1,190,170

- 3.72%

1.70%

BCR

Y

N

0.94

$659.70 Million

2.90%

581,074

- 1.49%

0.50%

BSX

N

Y

0.66

$874 Million

2.40%

10,688,000

9.93%

N/A

IART

Y

N

0.90

$99.83 Million

11.70%

193,084

20.00%

N/A

ATRI

Y

Y

0.00

$31.55 Million

2.10%

9,685

15.97%

0.90%

Revenue

Net Income

D/E Ratio

OCF

Short Position

Average Volume

3-Month Performance

Dividend Yield

ZMH

Y

N

1.38

$955.50 Million

2.30%

1,123,830

- 5.87%

0.80%

SNN

Y

N

0.42

$683 Million

N/A

501,450

- 2.08%

2.10%

OFIX

N

N

0.00

$50.96 Million

3.50%

106,781

1.97%

N/A

Revenue

Net Income

D/E Ratio

OCF

Short Position

Average Volume

3-Month Performance

Dividend Yield

ISRG

N

N

0.00

$622.50 Million

4.20%

270,458

- 3.99%

N/A

RMD

Y

Y

0.30

$399.06 Million

10.90%

1,033,360

- 13.37%

1.70%

CNMD

N

N

0.45

$62.96 Million

3.40%

154,035

7.98%

1.40%

Revenue

Net Income

D/E Ratio

OCF

Short Position

Average Volume

3-Month Performance

Dividend Yield

TFX

Y

Y

0.59

$287.05 Million

7.70%

321,415

5.52%

1.10%

ICUI

N

N

0.00

$61.18 Million

6.60%

123,498

10.30%

N/A

Revenue

Net Income

D/E Ratio

OCF

Short Position

Average Volume

3-Month Performance

Dividend Yield

XRAY

N

N

0.61

$561.47 Million

4.70%

811,050

0.63%

0.60%

Revenue

Net Income

D/E Ratio

OCF

Short Position

Average Volume

3-Month Performance

Dividend Yield

VAR

Y

N

0.31

N/A

5.30%

671,416

- 6.23%

N/A

Revenue

Net Income

D/E Ratio

OCF

Short Position

Average Volume

3-Month Performance

Dividend Yield

COO

Y

N

0.55

$466.09 Million

4.80%

391,740

9.50%

N/A

Revenue

Net Income

D/E Ratio

OCF

Short Position

Average Volume

3-Month Performance

Dividend Yield

HOLX

Y

N

1.81

$601.40 Million

4.70%

1,584,900

9.14%

N/A

ABAX

N

N

0.02

N/A

27.50%

157,387

- 14.61%

0.80%

Revenue

Net Income

D/E Ratio

OCF

Short Position

Average Volume

3-Month Performance

Dividend Yield

NUVA

Y

N

0.55

$118.27 Million

N/A

728,450

0.15%

N/A

CYBX

Y

Y

0.00

$79.95 Million

7.20%

533,923

3.06%

N/A

Healthcare and medical equipment stocks have been performing well, a trend that should continue thanks to retiring Baby Boomers. Hopefully the list above will help you narrow down your options, which lead to more focused research and profitable results. (For more, see: Healthcare Stocks: A Prescription for More Gains?)

Dan Moskowitz does not own shares in any of the companies listed above.