For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Fluidigm been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Fluidigm is one of 892 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #1 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FLDM's full-year earnings has moved 10.10% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, FLDM has returned 4.60% so far this year. At the same time, Medical stocks have lost an average of 3.46%. This shows that Fluidigm is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Looking more specifically, FLDM belongs to the Medical - Instruments industry, a group that includes 94 individual stocks and currently sits at #47 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 1.69% so far this year, meaning that FLDM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

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