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Are Medical Stocks Lagging Boston Scientific (BSX) 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. Boston Scientific (BSX - 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Medical peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Boston Scientific is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 1144 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #7. 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 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. Boston Scientific is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BSX's full-year earnings has moved 2.4% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that BSX has returned about 15.3% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have lost about 0.6% on average. This shows that Boston Scientific is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Medical stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Aravive (ARAV - Free Report) . The stock has returned 22% year-to-date.

In Aravive's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 15.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Boston Scientific belongs to the Medical - Products industry, which includes 99 individual stocks and currently sits at #85 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 6.3% this year, meaning that BSX is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Aravive, however, belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Currently, this 552-stock industry is ranked #103. The industry has moved -5.8% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to Boston Scientific and Aravive as they could maintain their solid performance.


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