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Has Applied Materials (AMAT) Outpaced Other Computer and Technology Stocks This Year?

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The Computer and Technology group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Applied Materials (AMAT - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Computer and Technology peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Applied Materials is a member of the Computer and Technology sector. This group includes 629 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. 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. AMAT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMAT's full-year earnings has moved 10.57% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that AMAT has returned about 90.44% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Computer and Technology sector has returned an average of 29.29% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Applied Materials is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Looking more specifically, AMAT belongs to the Semiconductor Equipment - Wafer Fabrication industry, which includes 4 individual stocks and currently sits at #3 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 89.90% so far this year, so AMAT is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors in the Computer and Technology sector will want to keep a close eye on AMAT as it attempts to continue its solid performance.


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