Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Baxter International (BAX) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Baxter International is one of 917 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #10 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Baxter International is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BAX's full-year earnings has moved 6.5% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that BAX has returned about 26.7% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Medical stocks have lost an average of 0.2%. This shows that Baxter International is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another stock in the Medical sector, Bayer Aktiengesellschaft (BAYRY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 14.5%.
In Bayer Aktiengesellschaft's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 2.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Baxter International belongs to the Medical - Products industry, a group that includes 82 individual stocks and currently sits at #161 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 22.4% so far this year, meaning that BAX is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Bayer Aktiengesellschaft falls under the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry. Currently, this industry has 11 stocks and is ranked #100. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +8.9%.
Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to Baxter International and Bayer Aktiengesellschaft as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Baxter International Inc. (BAX): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).