Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Medtronic (MDT Quick QuoteMDT - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Medtronic is a member of our Medical group, which includes 817 different companies and currently sits at #6 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 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. MDT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MDT's full-year earnings has moved 0.06% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, MDT has returned 13.28% so far this year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of 0.02%. This shows that Medtronic is outperforming its peers so far this year.

To break things down more, MDT belongs to the Medical - Products industry, a group that includes 72 individual companies and currently sits at #151 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 11.13% this year, meaning that MDT is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to MDT as it looks to continue its solid performance.