Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Agenus (AGEN) 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.
Agenus is one of 889 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #8 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.
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. Agenus is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AGEN's full-year earnings has moved 140.7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
According to our latest data, AGEN has moved about 32.8% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Medical stocks have lost an average of 7.3%. This shows that Agenus is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another Medical stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Align Technology (ALGN). The stock has returned 8% year-to-date.
For Align Technology, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Agenus belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 433 individual stocks and currently sits at #148 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 1.6% so far this year, so AGEN is performing better in this area.
In contrast, Align Technology falls under the Medical - Dental Supplies industry. Currently, this industry has 13 stocks and is ranked #63. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -7.6%.
Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to Agenus and Align Technology as they could maintain their solid performance.
7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days
Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."
Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.9% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention.
See them 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
Agenus Inc. (AGEN): Free Stock Analysis Report
Align Technology, Inc. (ALGN): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).