Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Alignment Healthcare (ALHC) 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.
Alignment Healthcare is one of 889 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #6 within 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. Alignment Healthcare is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALHC's full-year earnings has moved 28.3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
According to our latest data, ALHC has moved about 10.9% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -8.4%. As we can see, Alignment Healthcare is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another Medical stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Amneal Pharmaceuticals (AMRX). The stock has returned 1.1% year-to-date.
For Amneal Pharmaceuticals, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (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 #94 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 12% so far this year, meaning that ALHC is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Amneal Pharmaceuticals, however, belongs to the Medical - Drugs industry. Currently, this 133-stock industry is ranked #86. The industry has moved -1.7% so far this year.
Investors interested in the Medical sector may want to keep a close eye on Alignment Healthcare and Amneal Pharmaceuticals as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).