The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. AtriCure (ATRC) 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? 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.
AtriCure is one of 950 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #3 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 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. AtriCure is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATRC's full-year earnings has moved 32.9% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the latest available data, ATRC has gained about 11.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have gained about 4.8% on average. This means that AtriCure 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 Cidara Therapeutics (CDTX). The stock is up 714.8% year-to-date.
In Cidara Therapeutics' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 17.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, AtriCure belongs to the Medical - Products industry, which includes 84 individual stocks and currently sits at #159 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 2% this year, meaning that ATRC is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Cidara Therapeutics, however, belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Currently, this 468-stock industry is ranked #81. The industry has moved +15.8% so far this year.
AtriCure and Cidara Therapeutics could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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AtriCure, Inc. (ATRC): Free Stock Analysis Report Cidara Therapeutics, Inc. (CDTX): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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