Is Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (BLCM) Stock Outpacing Its Medical Peers This Year?
The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Bellicum Pharmaceuticals (BLCM) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Bellicum Pharmaceuticals is one of 1167 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. Bellicum Pharmaceuticals is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BLCM's full-year earnings has moved 19.5% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the latest available data, BLCM has gained about 19.4% so far this year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -5.6%. This shows that Bellicum Pharmaceuticals is outperforming its peers so far this year.
One other Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Chemed (CHE). The stock is up 1.1% year-to-date.
The consensus estimate for Chemed's current year EPS has increased 2.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Bellicum Pharmaceuticals belongs to the Medical - Drugs industry, a group that includes 216 individual stocks and currently sits at #87 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 0.5% so far this year, so BLCM is performing better in this area.
In contrast, Chemed falls under the Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare industry. Currently, this industry has 19 stocks and is ranked #158. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -0.3%.
Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to Bellicum Pharmaceuticals and Chemed as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (BLCM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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