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Are Medical Stocks Lagging Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) 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 Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

Bristol Myers Squibb is one of 916 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 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. Bristol Myers Squibb is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BMY's full-year earnings has moved 10% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, BMY has returned 16.5% so far this year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of 2.5%. This means that Bristol Myers Squibb is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Caris Life Sciences,?Inc. (CAI - Free Report) . The stock is up 14.6% year-to-date.

For Caris Life Sciences,?Inc., the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 96.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Bristol Myers Squibb belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, a group that includes 437 individual stocks and currently sits at #161 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 7.7% this year, meaning that BMY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Caris Life Sciences,?Inc. falls under the Medical Services industry. Currently, this industry has 72 stocks and is ranked #82. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +3.5%.

Bristol Myers Squibb and Caris Life Sciences,?Inc. could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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