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Is Bio-Rad Laboratories (BIO) Stock Outpacing Its Medical Peers 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. Bio-Rad Laboratories (BIO - 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? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Medical sector should help us answer this question.

Bio-Rad Laboratories is one of 1116 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #11 within 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. Bio-Rad Laboratories is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BIO's full-year earnings has moved 8% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, BIO has returned 29.1% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have lost about 9.3% on average. This means that Bio-Rad Laboratories is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Medical stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Fullgent Genetics (FLGT - Free Report) . The stock has returned 63.4% year-to-date.

For Fullgent Genetics, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 29.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Bio-Rad Laboratories belongs to the Medical - Products industry, a group that includes 90 individual companies and currently sits at #183 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 2.7% so far this year, so BIO is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Fullgent Genetics belongs to the Medical Info Systems industry. This 43-stock industry is currently ranked #158. The industry has moved -39.4% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track Bio-Rad Laboratories and Fullgent Genetics. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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