For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Centene (CNC) 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 Medical sector should help us answer this question.
Centene is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 888 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #7. 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Centene is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNC's full-year earnings has moved 19.9% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the latest available data, CNC has gained about 34.5% so far this year. At the same time, Medical stocks have lost an average of 6.8%. As we can see, Centene is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another Medical stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. (CLRB). The stock has returned 19.7% year-to-date.
For Cellectar Biosciences, Inc., the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 59.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Centene is a member of the Medical - HMOs industry, which includes 8 individual companies and currently sits at #53 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 9.9% this year, meaning that CNC is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. belongs to the Medical - Products industry. This 78-stock industry is currently ranked #152. The industry has moved -23.2% year to date.
Investors interested in the Medical sector may want to keep a close eye on Centene and Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).