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Has Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) Outpaced 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? 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.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is one of 889 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #1 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. VRTX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for VRTX's full-year earnings has moved 13.22% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that VRTX has returned about 21.72% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Medical sector has returned an average of -2.18% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Vertex Pharmaceuticals is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Looking more specifically, VRTX belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 382 individual stocks and currently sits at #21 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 6.51% so far this year, so VRTX is performing better in this area.

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


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