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Is Astellas Pharma (ALPMY) Outperforming Other Medical Stocks This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Astellas Pharma Inc. (ALPMY - 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 Medical sector should help us answer this question.

Astellas Pharma Inc. is a member of our Medical group, which includes 923 different companies and currently sits at #7 in 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 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. Astellas Pharma Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALPMY's full-year earnings has moved 3.3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that ALPMY has returned about 18.4% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Medical sector has returned an average of -6.7% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Astellas Pharma Inc. is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Cardinal Health (CAH - Free Report) . The stock is up 0.8% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Cardinal Health's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Astellas Pharma Inc. belongs to the Medical - Drugs industry, which includes 143 individual stocks and currently sits at #95 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 4.9% so far this year, so ALPMY is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Cardinal Health belongs to the Medical - Dental Supplies industry. This 15-stock industry is currently ranked #53. The industry has moved -2.7% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track Astellas Pharma Inc. and Cardinal Health. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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