For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Boston Scientific (BSX) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Boston Scientific is one of 1000 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 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. Boston Scientific is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BSX's full-year earnings has moved 5.2% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
According to our latest data, BSX has moved about 13.2% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -3.2%. This shows that Boston Scientific is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another stock in the Medical sector, Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 2.1%.
In Arbutus Biopharma's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 45.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Boston Scientific is a member of the Medical - Products industry, which includes 81 individual companies and currently sits at #176 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 2.7% so far this year, so BSX is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Arbutus Biopharma falls under the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Currently, this industry has 508 stocks and is ranked #80. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -4.2%.
Investors interested in the Medical sector may want to keep a close eye on Boston Scientific and Arbutus Biopharma as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX): Free Stock Analysis Report Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (ABUS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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