For those looking to find strong Business Services stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Coherent (COHR) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Business Services sector should help us answer this question.
Coherent is a member of our Business Services group, which includes 234 different companies and currently sits at #13 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.
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. Coherent is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for COHR's full-year earnings has moved 7.7% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Our latest available data shows that COHR has returned about 66.6% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Business Services stocks have lost an average of 11.9%. This means that Coherent is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Another stock in the Business Services sector, Urgent.ly Inc. (ULYX), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 85.4%.
For Urgent.ly Inc., the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Coherent belongs to the Technology Services industry, a group that includes 111 individual stocks and currently sits at #185 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 8.3% so far this year, meaning that COHR is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Urgent.ly Inc. is also part of the same industry.
Investors interested in the Business Services sector may want to keep a close eye on Coherent and Urgent.ly Inc. as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
Quantum Computing Stocks Set To Soar
Artificial intelligence has already reshaped the investment landscape, and its convergence with quantum computing could lead to the most significant wealth-building opportunities of our time.
Today, you have a chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this technological revolution. In our urgent special report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power , you'll discover the little-known stocks we believe will win the quantum computing race and deliver massive gains to early investors.
Access the Report Free Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Coherent Corp. (COHR): Free Stock Analysis Report
Urgent.ly Inc. (ULYX): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).