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Has Bottomline Technologies (EPAY) Outpaced Other Computer and Technology Stocks This Year?

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The Computer and Technology group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Bottomline Technologies 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? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Computer and Technology sector should help us answer this question.

Bottomline Technologies is one of 625 individual stocks in the Computer and Technology sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #3 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. EPAY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPAY's full-year earnings has moved 6.86% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, EPAY has moved about 97.26% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Computer and Technology group have gained about 12.23% on average. This means that Bottomline Technologies is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

To break things down more, EPAY belongs to the Computer - Software industry, a group that includes 50 individual companies and currently sits at #58 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 28.52% so far this year, meaning that EPAY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors in the Computer and Technology sector will want to keep a close eye on EPAY as it attempts to continue its solid performance.