Investors focused on the Medical space have likely heard of Exelixis (EXEL Quick QuoteEXEL - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Exelixis is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 842 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. 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 is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. EXEL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EXEL's full-year earnings has moved 12.23% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, EXEL has gained about 11.34% so far this year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of 0.92%. This means that Exelixis is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Breaking things down more, EXEL is a member of the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 345 individual companies and currently sits at #59 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 8.35% so far this year, meaning that EXEL is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors in the Medical sector will want to keep a close eye on EXEL as it attempts to continue its solid performance.