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Are Medical Stocks Lagging Amgen (AMGN) This Year?

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Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Amgen (AMGN - 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.

Amgen is one of 917 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #9 in 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Amgen is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMGN's full-year earnings has moved 2.5% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, AMGN has returned 16.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Medical sector has returned an average of 0.4% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Amgen is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Charles River Laboratories (CRL - Free Report) . The stock is up 36.9% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Charles River Laboratories' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.6%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Amgen belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 438 individual stocks and currently sits at #167 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 5.2% so far this year, so AMGN is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Charles River Laboratories belongs to the Medical Services industry. This 72-stock industry is currently ranked #88. The industry has moved +1.5% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to Amgen and Charles River Laboratories as they could maintain their solid performance.

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