The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Gilead Sciences (GILD) 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.
Gilead Sciences is one of 1182 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #5 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.
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. Gilead Sciences is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GILD’s full-year earnings has moved 6.9% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock’s earnings outlook is improving.
Our latest available data shows that GILD has returned about 16.8% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Medical sector has returned an average of -17.5% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Gilead Sciences is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another Medical stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is HealthEquity (HQY). The stock has returned 40.5% year-to-date.
For HealthEquity, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Gilead Sciences belongs to the Medical – Biomedical and Genetics industry, a group that includes 557 individual stocks and currently sits at #66 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 18.8% this year, meaning that GILD is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, HealthEquity belongs to the Medical Services industry. This 70-stock industry is currently ranked #158. The industry has moved -32.7% year to date.
Gilead Sciences and HealthEquity could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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