Investors focused on the Medical space have likely heard of Medtronic (MDT Quick QuoteMDT - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of MDT and the rest of the Medical group's stocks.

Medtronic is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 889 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #2. 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 is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. MDT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MDT's full-year earnings has moved 1.58% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, MDT has returned 18.94% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Medical sector has returned an average of -0.04% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Medtronic is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, MDT belongs to the Medical - Products industry, which includes 80 individual stocks and currently sits at #111 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 12.29% so far this year, so MDT is performing better this group 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.