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Is Stryker (SYK) Stock Outpacing Its Medical Peers This Year?

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Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Stryker (SYK - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Stryker is one of 1062 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #5 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SYK's full-year earnings has moved 2.9% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, SYK has gained about 19.5% so far this year. At the same time, Medical stocks have gained an average of 8.2%. This shows that Stryker is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Athira Pharma, Inc. (ATHA - 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 12.8%.

Over the past three months, Athira Pharma, Inc.'s consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 6.6%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Stryker belongs to the Medical - Products industry, which includes 96 individual stocks and currently sits at #89 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 7.2% so far this year, so SYK is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Athira Pharma, Inc. belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. This 512-stock industry is currently ranked #76. The industry has moved +2.1% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to Stryker and Athira Pharma, Inc. as they could maintain their solid performance.


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