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Are Business Services Stocks Lagging AppHarvest (APPH) This Year?

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The Business Services group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has AppHarvest, Inc. been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Business Services peers, we might be able to answer that question.

AppHarvest, Inc. is one of 344 individual stocks in the Business Services sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #7 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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. AppHarvest, Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for APPH's full-year earnings has moved 35.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, APPH has returned 268.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Business Services group have gained about 10.2% on average. As we can see, AppHarvest, Inc. is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Business Services stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Luna Innovations Incorporated (LUNA - Free Report) . The stock has returned 11.2% year-to-date.

For Luna Innovations Incorporated, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, AppHarvest, Inc. belongs to the Technology Services industry, a group that includes 199 individual companies and currently sits at #109 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 18.1% this year, meaning that APPH is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Luna Innovations Incorporated is also part of the same industry.

Going forward, investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to AppHarvest, Inc. and Luna Innovations Incorporated as they could maintain their solid performance.


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