For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Eli Lilly and (LLY Quick QuoteLLY - 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.

Eli Lilly and is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 838 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #2. 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. LLY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for LLY's full-year earnings has moved 2.17% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, LLY has gained about 35.21% so far this year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -4.81%. This means that Eli Lilly and is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Breaking things down more, LLY is a member of the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry, which includes 14 individual companies and currently sits at #88 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 6.70% so far this year, so LLY is performing better in this area.

Investors in the Medical sector will want to keep a close eye on LLY as it attempts to continue its solid performance.