Becton, Dickinson and Company BDX, also popularly known as BD, announced its decision to invest $1.2 billion to expand and upgrade manufacturing capacity as well as technology for pre-fillable syringes (PFS) and advanced drug delivery systems (ADDS) over four years. The expansion and upgrade will take place throughout the company’s six global manufacturing locations along with the addition of a manufacturing facility in Europe.Apart from expanding its geographical footprint, the company is likely to strengthen its BD Medical segment with the upgrade.More on the NewsIt is worth mentioning here that BD invented the ready-to-fill pre-fillable syringe technology and this announcement reflects the company’s continued focus to cater to its customers efficiently.This investment will aid in capacity extension, product innovations, manufacturing technology advancements and business continuity improvements throughout BD’s existing network. All these developments will help to boost supply and lower risks for pharmaceutical companies depending on ready-to-fill syringes for their injectable drugs. Additionally, the investment will provide BD with the necessary high capacity for increased pre-fillable syringe demand during a pandemic or at the time of substantial growth in new injectable drugs and vaccines. Further, this substantial investment in BD Medical — the company’s fastest-growing business unit — will accelerate its leadership position and aid in sustained solid growth in the future.Another DevelopmentIn November 2020, BD closed the acquisition of the Medical Business assets of CUBEX LLC. The latter is a privately-held company that designs cloud-based software offerings for advanced medication management. The acquisition widens the scope of BD’s medication management portfolio into the care continuum space and offers deeper integration with electronic health records (EHRs). This should further boost the BD Medical segment.Market ProspectsPer a report by MarketsandMarkets, the global prefilled syringes market is anticipated to be worth $8.6 billion by 2025 from $5.6 billion in 2020, growing witnessing a CAGR of 9%. Higher demand for prefilled syringes, owing to the rising prevalence of chronic diseases, technological advancements and increase in the adoption of self-injecting parenteral devices, are driving the market’s growth. Hence, this announcement is well-timed for BD.Price PerformanceShares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company have lost 6% in a year’s time against the industry’s rally of 13.5%.Stocks to ConsiderSome better-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are Cardinal Health Inc. CAH, Align Technology, Inc. ALGN and Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. TMO, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.Cardinal Health has a projected long-term earnings growth rate of 5.4%.Align Technology has an estimated long-term earnings growth rate of 18.3%.Thermo Fisher has a projected long-term earnings growth rate of 18%.These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the PandemicThe COVID-19 outbreak has shifted consumer behavior dramatically, and a handful of high-tech companies have stepped up to keep America running. Right now, investors in these companies have a shot at serious profits. For example, Zoom jumped 108.5% in less than 4 months while most other stocks were sinking.Our research shows that 5 cutting-edge stocks could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for “stay at home” technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of this decade, especially for those who get in early.See the 5 high-tech stocks now>>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Becton, Dickinson and Company (BDX): Free Stock Analysis Report Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH): Free Stock Analysis Report Align Technology, Inc. (ALGN): Free Stock Analysis Report Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (TMO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research