Has Amgen (AMGN) Outpaced Other Medical Stocks This Year?
For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Amgen (AMGN) 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? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of AMGN and the rest of the Medical group's stocks.
Amgen is one of 889 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #2 within 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. AMGN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMGN's full-year earnings has moved 2.81% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Our latest available data shows that AMGN has returned about 0.47% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Medical sector has returned an average of -0.28% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Amgen is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Breaking things down more, AMGN is a member of the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 377 individual companies and currently sits at #79 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 6.05% so far this year, so AMGN is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track AMGN. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.
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