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Is Ardelyx (ARDX) Stock Outpacing Its Medical Peers This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Ardelyx (ARDX - Free Report) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Ardelyx is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 1174 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. 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. Ardelyx is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ARDX's full-year earnings has moved 5.6% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, ARDX has moved about 7.7% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have lost about 1% on average. This means that Ardelyx is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Agile Therapeutics (AGRX - Free Report) . The stock is up 21.2% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Agile Therapeutics' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 40.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Ardelyx belongs to the Medical - Drugs industry, a group that includes 217 individual companies and currently sits at #97 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 8.1% so far this year, so ARDX is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

In contrast, Agile Therapeutics falls under the Medical - Generic Drugs industry. Currently, this industry has 17 stocks and is ranked #151. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +14.5%.

Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track Ardelyx and Agile Therapeutics. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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