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Is Itron (ITRI) Stock Outpacing Its Computer and Technology Peers This Year?

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The Computer and Technology group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Itron (ITRI - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Computer and Technology sector should help us answer this question.

Itron is one of 619 individual stocks in the Computer and Technology sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #9 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ITRI's full-year earnings has moved 20.6% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that ITRI has returned about 42.2% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Computer and Technology sector has returned an average of 12.6% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Itron is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

OneSpan (OSPN - Free Report) is another Computer and Technology stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 15.2%.

In OneSpan's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 2.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Itron belongs to the Electronics - Testing Equipment industry, a group that includes 6 individual stocks and currently sits at #56 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 4.9% so far this year, meaning that ITRI is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

OneSpan, however, belongs to the Internet - Software industry. Currently, this 139-stock industry is ranked #70. The industry has moved +12.1% so far this year.

Itron and OneSpan could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Computer and Technology stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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