Is Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS) Outperforming Other Medical Stocks This Year?

Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Medical sector should help us answer this question.

Arbutus Biopharma is one of 1010 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #4 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Arbutus Biopharma is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ABUS' full-year earnings has moved 13.7% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, ABUS has moved about 7% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Medical sector has returned an average of 2.7% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Arbutus Biopharma is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Aveanna Healthcare (AVAH) is another Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 17.5%.

In Aveanna Healthcare's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 420% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Arbutus Biopharma is a member of the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 508 individual companies and currently sits at #67 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 3.6% so far this year, meaning that ABUS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Aveanna Healthcare, however, belongs to the Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare industry. Currently, this 18-stock industry is ranked #52. The industry has moved +3.6% so far this year.

Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track Arbutus Biopharma and Aveanna Healthcare. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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