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Is AtriCure (ATRC) 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 AtriCure (ATRC - 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.

AtriCure is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 917 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #10. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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. AtriCure is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATRC's full-year earnings has moved 123.1% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that ATRC has returned about 37.9% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of 0.4%. As we can see, AtriCure is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Medical stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Aveanna Healthcare (AVAH - Free Report) . The stock has returned 72.3% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Aveanna Healthcare's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 20%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, AtriCure belongs to the Medical - Products industry, which includes 86 individual stocks and currently sits at #103 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 22.7% so far this year, meaning that ATRC is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Aveanna Healthcare, however, belongs to the Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare industry. Currently, this 14-stock industry is ranked #57. The industry has moved +22.1% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to AtriCure and Aveanna Healthcare as they could maintain their solid performance.

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