Are Medical Stocks Lagging Bayer (BAYRY) This Year?

For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (BAYRY) 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.

Bayer Aktiengesellschaft is one of 928 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #10 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. Bayer Aktiengesellschaft is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BAYRY's full-year earnings has moved 9.7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, BAYRY has moved about 26.2% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Medical stocks have gained an average of 3.1%. This means that Bayer Aktiengesellschaft is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Align Technology (ALGN). The stock is up 12.5% year-to-date.

For Align Technology, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Bayer Aktiengesellschaft belongs to the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry, a group that includes 11 individual stocks and currently sits at #200 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 1.7% so far this year, so BAYRY is performing better in this area.

Align Technology, however, belongs to the Medical - Dental Supplies industry. Currently, this 15-stock industry is ranked #82. The industry has moved +8.5% so far this year.

Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track Bayer Aktiengesellschaft and Align Technology. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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