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Is BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN) Outperforming Other Medical Stocks 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 BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN - 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.

BioMarin Pharmaceutical is one of 914 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #6 in 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 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. BioMarin Pharmaceutical is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BMRN's full-year earnings has moved 0.4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, BMRN has moved about 15.3% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Medical sector has returned an average of 3% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that BioMarin Pharmaceutical is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Medical sector, Cardinal Health (CAH - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 12.5%.

Over the past three months, Cardinal Health's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.6%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, BioMarin Pharmaceutical is a member of the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 439 individual companies and currently sits at #153 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 5.2% this year, meaning that BMRN is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Cardinal Health falls under the Medical - Dental Supplies industry. Currently, this industry has 14 stocks and is ranked #45. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +4.6%.

Investors interested in the Medical sector may want to keep a close eye on BioMarin Pharmaceutical and Cardinal Health as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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