For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has CVS Health (CVS) 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.
CVS Health is a member of our Medical group, which includes 996 different companies and currently sits at #7 in 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. CVS Health is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CVS' full-year earnings has moved 4% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the latest available data, CVS has gained about 51.8% so far this year. At the same time, Medical stocks have lost an average of 3.9%. This means that CVS Health is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another Medical stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Agenus (AGEN). The stock has returned 79.2% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Agenus' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 124.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, CVS Health belongs to the Medical Services industry, which includes 58 individual stocks and currently sits at #60 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 0.3% so far this year, so CVS is performing better in this area.
On the other hand, Agenus belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. This 501-stock industry is currently ranked #83. The industry has moved -3.2% year to date.
Investors interested in the Medical sector may want to keep a close eye on CVS Health and Agenus as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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CVS Health Corporation (CVS): Free Stock Analysis Report Agenus Inc. (AGEN): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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