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Is Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) Outperforming Other Medical Stocks This Year?

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Investors focused on the Medical space have likely heard of Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of VRTX and the rest of the Medical group's stocks.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals 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 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. VRTX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for VRTX's full-year earnings has moved 11.39% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, VRTX has returned 2.32% so far this year. At the same time, Medical stocks have gained an average of 1.27%. This means that Vertex Pharmaceuticals is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

To break things down more, VRTX belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, a group that includes 367 individual companies and currently sits at #86 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 4.73% so far this year, meaning that VRTX is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

VRTX will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.


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