For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (AKRO) 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.
Akero Therapeutics, Inc. is one of 961 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #4 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.
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. Akero Therapeutics, Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AKRO's full-year earnings has moved 4.9% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the most recent data, AKRO has returned 70.7% so far this year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -0.4%. As we can see, Akero Therapeutics, Inc. is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
One other Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Humana (HUM). The stock is up 2.6% year-to-date.
For Humana, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Akero Therapeutics, Inc. belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 472 individual stocks and currently sits at #80 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 4.9% so far this year, meaning that AKRO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Humana, however, belongs to the Medical - HMOs industry. Currently, this 8-stock industry is ranked #215. The industry has moved -26% so far this year.
Investors interested in the Medical sector may want to keep a close eye on Akero Therapeutics, Inc. and Humana as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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Akero Therapeutics, Inc. (AKRO): Free Stock Analysis Report Humana Inc. (HUM): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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