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Are Medical Stocks Lagging Assertio (ASRT) This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Assertio (ASRT - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Assertio is one of 1183 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #5 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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. Assertio is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASRT's full-year earnings has moved 9.1% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, ASRT has gained about 80.3% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have lost about 15.1% on average. This shows that Assertio is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Liquidia Technologies, Inc. (LQDA - Free Report) . The stock is up 34.3% year-to-date.

For Liquidia Technologies, Inc. the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 10.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Assertio belongs to the Medical - Drugs industry, a group that includes 218 individual stocks and currently sits at #87 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 28.8% this year, meaning that ASRT is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Liquidia Technologies, Inc. falls under the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Currently, this industry has 558 stocks and is ranked #57. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -16%.

Investors interested in the Medical sector may want to keep a close eye on Assertio and Liquidia Technologies, Inc. as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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