For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Boston Scientific (BSX) 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.
Boston Scientific is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 999 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #4. 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. Boston Scientific is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BSX's full-year earnings has moved 2.3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Our latest available data shows that BSX has returned about 15.1% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Medical stocks have lost an average of 4.4%. As we can see, Boston Scientific is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another Medical stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Dare Bioscience, Inc. (DARE). The stock has returned 4.5% year-to-date.
For Dare Bioscience, Inc. the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 8.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Breaking things down more, Boston Scientific is a member of the Medical - Products industry, which includes 83 individual companies and currently sits at #135 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 5.8% so far this year, so BSX is performing better in this area.
In contrast, Dare Bioscience, Inc. falls under the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Currently, this industry has 503 stocks and is ranked #72. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -3.9%.
Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to Boston Scientific and Dare Bioscience, Inc. as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX): Free Stock Analysis Report Dare Bioscience, Inc. (DARE): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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