The Computer and Technology group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has MaxLinear (MXL Quick QuoteMXL - 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.

MaxLinear is one of 647 companies in the Computer and Technology group. The Computer and Technology group currently sits at #8 within 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 is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. MaxLinear is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MXL's full-year earnings has moved 17.5% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, MXL has gained about 87.8% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Computer and Technology group have gained about 29.8% on average. This means that MaxLinear is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, MaxLinear belongs to the Semiconductor - Analog and Mixed industry, which includes 10 individual stocks and currently sits at #25 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 36.3% so far this year, so MXL is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.