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Is Aerie Pharmaceuticals (AERI) 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. Has Aerie Pharmaceuticals been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Medical peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Aerie Pharmaceuticals is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 1184 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. 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. Aerie Pharmaceuticals is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AERI's full-year earnings has moved 10.7% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, AERI has returned 115.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have lost about 17.1% on average. This means that Aerie Pharmaceuticals is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Alignment Healthcare (ALHC - Free Report) is another Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 17.6%.

In Alignment Healthcare's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 25.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Aerie Pharmaceuticals is a member of the Medical - Drugs industry, which includes 220 individual companies and currently sits at #84 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 21% this year, meaning that AERI is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Alignment Healthcare falls under the Medical Services industry. Currently, this industry has 66 stocks and is ranked #152. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -26.4%.

Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to Aerie Pharmaceuticals and Alignment Healthcare as they could maintain their solid performance.


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