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Is AEterna Zentaris (AEZS) Stock Outpacing Its Medical Peers 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. Has Aeterna Zentaris (AEZS - 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.

Aeterna Zentaris is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 1174 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #6. 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 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. Aeterna Zentaris is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEZS' full-year earnings has moved 10.3% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, AEZS has gained about 17.6% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Medical sector has returned an average of -1.9% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Aeterna Zentaris is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Medical stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Idexx Laboratories (IDXX - Free Report) . The stock has returned 19% year-to-date.

For Idexx Laboratories, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Aeterna Zentaris is a member of the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 557 individual companies and currently sits at #92 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 0.9% so far this year, so AEZS is performing better in this area.

Idexx Laboratories, however, belongs to the Medical - Instruments industry. Currently, this 98-stock industry is ranked #80. The industry has moved +3.6% so far this year.

Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track Aeterna Zentaris and Idexx Laboratories. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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