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Is McKesson (MCK) Stock Outpacing Its Medical Peers 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. Has McKesson (MCK - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

McKesson is one of 998 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #6 within 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 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. McKesson is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MCK's full-year earnings has moved 1.5% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, MCK has gained about 27.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have lost about 4.9% on average. This means that McKesson is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Benitec Biopharma Limited (BNTC - 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 18.3%.

The consensus estimate for Benitec Biopharma Limited's current year EPS has increased 19.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, McKesson belongs to the Medical - Dental Supplies industry, which includes 14 individual stocks and currently sits at #30 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 0.9% so far this year, so MCK is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Benitec Biopharma Limited falls under the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Currently, this industry has 502 stocks and is ranked #87. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -4.8%.

Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to McKesson and Benitec Biopharma Limited as they could maintain their solid performance.


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