The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Pfizer (PFE Quick QuotePFE - 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.

Pfizer is one of 1121 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #9 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. PFE is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for PFE's full-year earnings has moved 1.13% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, PFE has moved about 23.47% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -2.97%. As we can see, Pfizer is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

To break things down more, PFE belongs to the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry, a group that includes 14 individual companies and currently sits at #95 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 19.22% so far this year, meaning that PFE is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors in the Medical sector will want to keep a close eye on PFE as it attempts to continue its solid performance.