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Is Alkermes (ALKS) 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. Alkermes (ALKS - 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Alkermes is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 1138 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #7. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. Alkermes is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALKS' full-year earnings has moved 184.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, ALKS has moved about 25% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Medical sector has returned an average of -2.5% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Alkermes is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Masimo (MASI - Free Report) . The stock is up 10% year-to-date.

For Masimo, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Alkermes belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, a group that includes 548 individual companies and currently sits at #105 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 8.4% this year, meaning that ALKS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Masimo falls under the Medical - Instruments industry. Currently, this industry has 94 stocks and is ranked #110. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +6.5%.

Investors interested in the Medical sector may want to keep a close eye on Alkermes and Masimo as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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