Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of DAQO New Energy (DQ Quick QuoteDQ - 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.

DAQO New Energy is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 245 different companies and currently sits at #7 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 is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. DQ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for DQ's full-year earnings has moved 110.03% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, DQ has gained about 37.64% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 28.49%. This means that DAQO New Energy is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Looking more specifically, DQ belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry, a group that includes 36 individual stocks and currently sits at #129 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 7.77% so far this year, so DQ is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

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