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Is Avantor (AVTR) Stock Outpacing Its Medical Peers 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. Is Avantor, Inc. (AVTR - 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.

Avantor, Inc. is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 916 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #6. 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 system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Avantor, Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AVTR's full-year earnings has moved 0.8% 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, AVTR has returned 45.6% so far this year. At the same time, Medical stocks have gained an average of 8.3%. This means that Avantor, Inc. is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Medical stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Novartis (NVS - Free Report) . The stock has returned 16.9% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Novartis' current year EPS has increased 2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Avantor, Inc. belongs to the Medical Services industry, which includes 70 individual stocks and currently sits at #102 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 11.6% this year, meaning that AVTR is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Novartis falls under the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry. Currently, this industry has 11 stocks and is ranked #212. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +22.5%.

Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track Avantor, Inc. and Novartis. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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