Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Astrazeneca (AZN) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Astrazeneca is a member of our Medical group, which includes 891 different companies and currently sits at #6 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. Astrazeneca is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AZN's full-year earnings has moved 0.1% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the latest available data, AZN has gained about 11% so far this year. At the same time, Medical stocks have lost an average of 6.3%. This means that Astrazeneca is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
ArriVent BioPharma, Inc. (AVBP) is another Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 26.5%.
Over the past three months, ArriVent BioPharma, Inc.'s consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.9%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Astrazeneca belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 436 individual stocks and currently sits at #144 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 0.8% this year, meaning that AZN is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. ArriVent BioPharma, Inc. is also part of the same industry.
Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track Astrazeneca and ArriVent BioPharma, Inc.. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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AstraZeneca PLC (AZN): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).