The Business Services group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has AppLovin (APP) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Business Services sector should help us answer this question.
AppLovin is one of 253 individual stocks in the Business Services sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #5 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.
The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. AppLovin is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for APP's full-year earnings has moved 6.7% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that APP has returned about 76.4% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Business Services sector has returned an average of 1.6% on a year-to-date basis. This means that AppLovin is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Another Business Services stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is FirstCash Holdings (FCFS). The stock has returned 42.9% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, FirstCash Holdings' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.3%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, AppLovin belongs to the Technology Services industry, a group that includes 118 individual stocks and currently sits at #144 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 32.3% so far this year, meaning that APP is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
FirstCash Holdings, however, belongs to the Financial Transaction Services industry. Currently, this 34-stock industry is ranked #63. The industry has moved +3% so far this year.
AppLovin and FirstCash Holdings could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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AppLovin Corporation (APP): Free Stock Analysis Report FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (FCFS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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