Investors focused on the Medical space have likely heard of Abbott Laboratories (ABT Quick QuoteABT - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? 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.

Abbott Laboratories is one of 833 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. ABT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ABT's full-year earnings has moved 0.28% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, ABT has returned 10.55% so far this year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of 10.46%. As we can see, Abbott Laboratories is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Looking more specifically, ABT belongs to the Medical - Products industry, which includes 77 individual stocks and currently sits at #74 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 13.70% so far this year, so ABT is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

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