Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Alignment Healthcare (ALHC) one of those stocks right now? 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.
Alignment Healthcare is one of 884 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #9 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 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. Alignment Healthcare is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALHC's full-year earnings has moved 51.9% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the most recent data, ALHC has returned 17.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have gained about 1.4% on average. This means that Alignment Healthcare is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another stock in the Medical sector, DaVita HealthCare (DVA), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 91%.
The consensus estimate for DaVita HealthCare's current year EPS has increased 6.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
To break things down more, Alignment Healthcare belongs to the Medical Services industry, a group that includes 62 individual companies and currently sits at #96 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 1.8% so far this year, so ALHC is performing better in this area.
On the other hand, DaVita HealthCare belongs to the Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare industry. This 14-stock industry is currently ranked #55. The industry has moved +14.3% year to date.
Investors interested in the Medical sector may want to keep a close eye on Alignment Healthcare and DaVita HealthCare as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).