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Is Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (CPRX) Outperforming Other Medical Stocks 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. Catalyst Pharmaceutical (CPRX - 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Catalyst Pharmaceutical is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 1184 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #6. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. Catalyst Pharmaceutical is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CPRX's full-year earnings has moved 4.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, CPRX has gained about 129.3% so far this year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -19.2%. This means that Catalyst Pharmaceutical is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Medical sector, Lyell Immunopharma (LYEL - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 2.7%.

Over the past three months, Lyell Immunopharma's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.9%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Catalyst Pharmaceutical is a member of the Medical - Drugs industry, which includes 220 individual companies and currently sits at #91 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 22.6% this year, meaning that CPRX is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Lyell Immunopharma is also part of the same industry.

Catalyst Pharmaceutical and Lyell Immunopharma could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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