For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Alkermes (ALKS) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Medical peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Alkermes is one of 951 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #5 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Alkermes is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALKS' full-year earnings has moved 14.7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
According to our latest data, ALKS has moved about 8% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of 1.3%. As we can see, Alkermes is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Cardinal Health (CAH) is another Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 66.4%.
In Cardinal Health's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 7.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Alkermes belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 469 individual stocks and currently sits at #99 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 11.4% so far this year, so ALKS is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.
In contrast, Cardinal Health falls under the Medical - Dental Supplies industry. Currently, this industry has 14 stocks and is ranked #40. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +9.1%.
Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track Alkermes and Cardinal Health. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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Alkermes plc (ALKS): Free Stock Analysis Report Cardinal Health, Inc. (CAH): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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