Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Novartis (NVS Quick QuoteNVS - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Novartis is one of 867 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #3 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. NVS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NVS's full-year earnings has moved 2.88% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, NVS has moved about 3.58% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have gained about 3.13% on average. This shows that Novartis is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Breaking things down more, NVS is a member of the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry, which includes 14 individual companies and currently sits at #40 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 2.72% this year, meaning that NVS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track NVS. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.