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Are Medical Stocks Lagging AdaptHealth (AHCO) 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. AdaptHealth Corp. (AHCO - 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.

AdaptHealth Corp. is one of 1063 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #4 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. AdaptHealth Corp. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AHCO's full-year earnings has moved 14.4% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, AHCO has gained about 52% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have gained about 6.9% on average. As we can see, AdaptHealth Corp. is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Ascendis Pharma A/S (ASND - Free Report) is another Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 16.1%.

In Ascendis Pharma A/S's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 48.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, AdaptHealth Corp. belongs to the Medical - Products industry, a group that includes 96 individual stocks and currently sits at #93 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 5% so far this year, so AHCO is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Ascendis Pharma A/S belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. This 512-stock industry is currently ranked #84. The industry has moved +0.6% year to date.

Investors interested in the Medical sector may want to keep a close eye on AdaptHealth Corp. and Ascendis Pharma A/S as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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