Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Medpace (MEDP) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Medpace is one of 954 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #5 within 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 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. Medpace is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MEDP's full-year earnings has moved 5.7% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the latest available data, MEDP has gained about 74.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have gained about 4.9% on average. This shows that Medpace is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another stock in the Medical sector, Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (BAYRY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 62.5%.
Over the past three months, Bayer Aktiengesellschaft's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 5.4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, Medpace belongs to the Medical Services industry, a group that includes 63 individual stocks and currently sits at #96 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 5% so far this year, meaning that MEDP is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Bayer Aktiengesellschaft, however, belongs to the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry. Currently, this 11-stock industry is ranked #169. The industry has moved +4.2% so far this year.
Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to Medpace and Bayer Aktiengesellschaft as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Medpace Holdings, Inc. (MEDP): Free Stock Analysis Report Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (BAYRY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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