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Are Medical Stocks Lagging Cardinal Health (CAH) 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 Cardinal Health (CAH - 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.

Cardinal Health is one of 916 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. Cardinal Health is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CAH's full-year earnings has moved 4.5% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, CAH has returned 15.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Medical sector has returned an average of 1.3% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Cardinal Health is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Alto Neuroscience, Inc. (ANRO - Free Report) . The stock is up 35.7% year-to-date.

In Alto Neuroscience, Inc.'s case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 10.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Cardinal Health belongs to the Medical - Dental Supplies industry, which includes 14 individual stocks and currently sits at #69 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 7.5% this year, meaning that CAH is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Alto Neuroscience, Inc., however, belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Currently, this 449-stock industry is ranked #160. The industry has moved +1.8% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to Cardinal Health and Alto Neuroscience, Inc. as they could maintain their solid performance.

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