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Is Applied Materials (AMAT) Outperforming Other Computer and Technology Stocks This Year?

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The Computer and Technology group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Applied Materials (AMAT - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Computer and Technology sector should help us answer this question.

Applied Materials is one of 639 individual stocks in the Computer and Technology sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #6 in 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. AMAT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMAT's full-year earnings has moved 1.24% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, AMAT has moved about 38.30% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Computer and Technology companies have returned an average of 22.71%. This means that Applied Materials is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, AMAT belongs to the Semiconductor Equipment - Wafer Fabrication industry, a group that includes 5 individual stocks and currently sits at #66 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 38.68% so far this year, so AMAT is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

AMAT will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Computer and Technology stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.


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