For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Avantor, Inc. (AVTR) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Medical sector should help us answer this question.
Avantor, Inc. is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 916 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #6. 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 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. Avantor, Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AVTR's full-year earnings has moved 0.8% 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, AVTR has returned 45.6% so far this year. At the same time, Medical stocks have gained an average of 8.3%. This means that Avantor, Inc. is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another Medical stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Novartis (NVS). The stock has returned 16.9% year-to-date.
The consensus estimate for Novartis' current year EPS has increased 2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Avantor, Inc. belongs to the Medical Services industry, which includes 70 individual stocks and currently sits at #102 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 11.6% this year, meaning that AVTR is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Novartis falls under the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry. Currently, this industry has 11 stocks and is ranked #212. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +22.5%.
Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track Avantor, Inc. and Novartis. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
