Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of Voestalpine (VLPNY Quick QuoteVLPNY - 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.

Voestalpine is one of 251 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #6 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 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. VLPNY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VLPNY's full-year earnings has moved 48.88% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, VLPNY has moved about 20.20% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 11.38%. As we can see, Voestalpine is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Looking more specifically, VLPNY belongs to the Steel - Speciality industry, which includes 5 individual stocks and currently sits at #10 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 17.69% so far this year, so VLPNY is performing better in this area.

VLPNY will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.