Is Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) Outperforming Other Medical Stocks This Year?
The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) 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 VRTX and the rest of the Medical group's stocks.
Vertex Pharmaceuticals is one of 889 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #3 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. VRTX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for VRTX's full-year earnings has moved 11.39% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the latest available data, VRTX has gained about 4.04% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Medical sector has returned an average of -1.55% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
To break things down more, VRTX belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, a group that includes 377 individual companies and currently sits at #82 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 6.24% so far this year, meaning that VRTX is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Investors in the Medical sector will want to keep a close eye on VRTX as it attempts to continue its solid performance.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
