The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Novartis (NVS) 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 Medical sector should help us answer this question.
Novartis is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 974 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #7. 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Novartis is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NVS' full-year earnings has moved 1.9% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Our latest available data shows that NVS has returned about 26.2% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -2.6%. This means that Novartis is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
One other Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS). The stock is up 34.6% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Arbutus Biopharma's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 15.6%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Novartis is a member of the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry, which includes 10 individual companies and currently sits at #52 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 0% this year, meaning that NVS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Arbutus Biopharma falls under the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Currently, this industry has 485 stocks and is ranked #97. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +3.1%.
Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to Novartis and Arbutus Biopharma as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Novartis AG (NVS): Free Stock Analysis Report Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (ABUS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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