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Is Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) Outperforming Other Medical Stocks This Year?

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The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX - 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? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of VRTX and the rest of the Medical group's stocks.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is one of 870 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. VRTX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for VRTX's full-year earnings has moved 3.24% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that VRTX has returned about 6.90% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of 4.58%. As we can see, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Looking more specifically, VRTX belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, a group that includes 368 individual stocks and currently sits at #64 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 0.98% this year, meaning that VRTX is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track VRTX. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.


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