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Are Medical Stocks Lagging Eli Lilly (LLY) This Year?

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The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Eli Lilly (LLY - Free Report) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? 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.

Eli Lilly is a member of our Medical group, which includes 1025 different companies and currently sits at #2 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for LLY's full-year earnings has moved 19.9% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, LLY has gained about 52.9% so far this year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of 8.2%. This means that Eli Lilly is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is BioLife Solutions, Inc. (BLFS - Free Report) . The stock is up 49.5% year-to-date.

For BioLife Solutions, Inc. the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Eli Lilly belongs to the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry, a group that includes 12 individual companies and currently sits at #32 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 19.7% this year, meaning that LLY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, BioLife Solutions, Inc. belongs to the Medical - Products industry. This 88-stock industry is currently ranked #49. The industry has moved +13.3% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track Eli Lilly and BioLife Solutions, Inc. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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