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Are Medical Stocks Lagging AVEO Pharmaceuticals (AVEO) This Year?

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Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. AVEO Pharmaceuticals 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? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Medical sector should help us answer this question.

AVEO Pharmaceuticals is one of 1181 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #5 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. AVEO Pharmaceuticals is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AVEO's full-year earnings has moved 13.5% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, AVEO has moved about 218.3% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -16.6%. This means that AVEO Pharmaceuticals is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Merit Medical (MMSI - Free Report) is another Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 13.7%.

Over the past three months, Merit Medical's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, AVEO Pharmaceuticals belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 557 individual stocks and currently sits at #65 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 18.6% this year, meaning that AVEO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Merit Medical, however, belongs to the Medical - Dental Supplies industry. Currently, this 18-stock industry is ranked #213. The industry has moved -10.6% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to AVEO Pharmaceuticals and Merit Medical as they could maintain their solid performance.


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