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Is Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (AMPH) Outperforming Other Medical Stocks 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 Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (AMPH - 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.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals is one of 1144 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #6 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 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. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMPH's full-year earnings has moved 15.7% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, AMPH has gained about 57.6% so far this year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -1.7%. This shows that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Medical sector, Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 10.3%.

Over the past three months, Arbutus Biopharma's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 24.1%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals belongs to the Medical - Generic Drugs industry, a group that includes 17 individual stocks and currently sits at #101 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 3.9% so far this year, so AMPH is performing better in this area.

Arbutus Biopharma, however, belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Currently, this 552-stock industry is ranked #114. The industry has moved -6.5% so far this year.

Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track Amphastar Pharmaceuticals and Arbutus Biopharma. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (AMPH) - free report >>

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