Are Medical Stocks Lagging Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH) This Year?
The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH) 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? 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.
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals is one of 1086 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #4 in 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. Aurinia Pharmaceuticals is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AUPH's full-year earnings has moved 8.8% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the latest available data, AUPH has gained about 115.1% so far this year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -2.6%. This means that Aurinia Pharmaceuticals is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
One other Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Cardinal Health (CAH). The stock is up 31.3% year-to-date.
The consensus estimate for Cardinal Health's current year EPS has increased 3.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Aurinia Pharmaceuticals belongs to the Medical - Drugs industry, a group that includes 194 individual companies and currently sits at #69 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 0.9% this year, meaning that AUPH is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Cardinal Health falls under the Medical - Dental Supplies industry. Currently, this industry has 16 stocks and is ranked #179. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +14.7%.
Aurinia Pharmaceuticals and Cardinal Health could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc (AUPH) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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