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Is Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND) Stock Outpacing Its Medical Peers 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. Ligand Pharmaceuticals (LGND - 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? 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.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 1144 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #6. 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. Ligand Pharmaceuticals is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for LGND's full-year earnings has moved 78.3% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, LGND has moved about 11.2% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -2.7%. This shows that Ligand Pharmaceuticals is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Medical sector, Clover Health Investments, Corp. (CLOV - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 3.9%.

The consensus estimate for Clover Health Investments, Corp.'s current year EPS has increased 8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Ligand Pharmaceuticals is a member of the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 552 individual companies and currently sits at #96 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 6.7% so far this year, so LGND is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Clover Health Investments, Corp. belongs to the Medical Info Systems industry. This 44-stock industry is currently ranked #100. The industry has moved +52.5% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track Ligand Pharmaceuticals and Clover Health Investments, Corp. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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