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Is Centene (CNC) 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. Centene (CNC - 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.

Centene is one of 1187 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #2 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 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. Centene is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNC's full-year earnings has moved 0.4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, CNC has gained about 2.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Medical sector has returned an average of -18.7% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Centene is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Medical stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is EDAP TMS S.A. (EDAP - Free Report) . The stock has returned 49.1% year-to-date.

For EDAP TMS S.A. the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 113.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Centene is a member of the Medical - HMOs industry, which includes 7 individual companies and currently sits at #35 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 10% so far this year, so CNC is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

In contrast, EDAP TMS S.A. falls under the Medical - Instruments industry. Currently, this industry has 103 stocks and is ranked #137. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -32.2%.

Investors interested in the Medical sector may want to keep a close eye on Centene and EDAP TMS S.A. as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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