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Are Medical Stocks Lagging Elanco Animal Health (ELAN) 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. Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (ELAN - 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.

Elanco Animal Health Incorporated is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 947 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. 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 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. Elanco Animal Health Incorporated is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ELAN's full-year earnings has moved 5.3% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, ELAN has gained about 79.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Medical sector has returned an average of 7.4% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Elanco Animal Health Incorporated is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Tactile Systems Technology (TCMD - Free Report) . The stock is up 66% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Tactile Systems Technology's current year EPS has increased 29% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Elanco Animal Health Incorporated belongs to the Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare industry, which includes 15 individual stocks and currently sits at #50 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 8.6% so far this year, so ELAN is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Tactile Systems Technology belongs to the Medical - Instruments industry. This 81-stock industry is currently ranked #149. The industry has moved +3.2% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to Elanco Animal Health Incorporated and Tactile Systems Technology as they could maintain their solid performance.


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Tactile Systems Technology, Inc. (TCMD) - free report >>

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