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Is Merck & Co. (MRK) 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 Merck (MRK - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

Merck is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 1185 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Merck is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MRK's full-year earnings has moved 0.9% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, MRK has moved about 36% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -16.7%. This means that Merck is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Cabaletta Bio, Inc. (CABA - 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 2.6%.

For Cabaletta Bio, Inc. the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 8.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Merck is a member of the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry, which includes 12 individual companies and currently sits at #54 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 8.5% so far this year, meaning that MRK is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Cabaletta Bio, Inc. falls under the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Currently, this industry has 560 stocks and is ranked #53. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -17.6%.

Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to Merck and Cabaletta Bio, Inc. as they could maintain their solid performance.


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