Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. CVS Health (CVS) 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.
CVS Health is one of 888 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit 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 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. CVS Health is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CVS' full-year earnings has moved 4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that CVS has returned about 20.9% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -4.4%. This means that CVS Health is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Align Technology (ALGN) is another Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 7.4%.
For Align Technology, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, CVS Health belongs to the Medical Services industry, a group that includes 62 individual stocks and currently sits at #109 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 8.1% this year, meaning that CVS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Align Technology, however, belongs to the Medical - Dental Supplies industry. Currently, this 13-stock industry is ranked #64. The industry has moved -6.4% so far this year.
CVS Health and Align Technology could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).