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Has Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN) Outpaced Other Medical Stocks This Year?

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Investors focused on the Medical space have likely heard of Alexion Pharmaceuticals , 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.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 866 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #3. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. ALXN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALXN's full-year earnings has moved 4.72% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that ALXN has returned about 10.57% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of 1.06%. This shows that Alexion Pharmaceuticals is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Looking more specifically, ALXN belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, a group that includes 367 individual stocks and currently sits at #98 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 2.78% this year, meaning that ALXN is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to ALXN as it looks to continue its solid performance.

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