Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (BCRX) 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.
BioCryst Pharmaceuticals is a member of our Medical group, which includes 912 different companies and currently sits at #7 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.
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. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BCRX's full-year earnings has moved 15.5% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the most recent data, BCRX has returned 25.9% so far this year. At the same time, Medical stocks have gained an average of 4%. As we can see, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Medical sector, Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 56.5%.
The consensus estimate for Halozyme Therapeutics' current year EPS has increased 3.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals is a member of the Medical - Drugs industry, which includes 136 individual companies and currently sits at #149 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 0.8% so far this year, so BCRX is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
Halozyme Therapeutics, however, belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Currently, this 438-stock industry is ranked #160. The industry has moved +8.9% so far this year.
Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to BioCryst Pharmaceuticals and Halozyme Therapeutics as they could maintain their solid performance.
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BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (BCRX): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).