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

Innoviva is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 887 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. 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 is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. INVA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for INVA's full-year earnings has moved 13.46% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, INVA has moved about 7.77% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Medical stocks have lost an average of 0.23%. As we can see, Innoviva is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Looking more specifically, INVA belongs to the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry, which includes 15 individual stocks and currently sits at #22 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 0.10% this year, meaning that INVA is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

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