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Are Retail-Wholesale Stocks Lagging Amazon.com (AMZN) This Year?

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The Retail-Wholesale group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Amazon is one of 218 individual stocks in the Retail-Wholesale sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #11 in 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Amazon is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMZN's full-year earnings has moved 14.8% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, AMZN has moved about 11.6% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Retail-Wholesale group have gained about 5.7% on average. This means that Amazon is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Retail-Wholesale sector, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 37%.

In Abercrombie & Fitch's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 44% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Amazon belongs to the Internet - Commerce industry, a group that includes 40 individual stocks and currently sits at #98 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 7% this year, meaning that AMZN is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Abercrombie & Fitch falls under the Retail - Apparel and Shoes industry. Currently, this industry has 42 stocks and is ranked #151. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +10.9%.

Investors with an interest in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to track Amazon and Abercrombie & Fitch. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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