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Are Medical Stocks Lagging Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (AMPH) This Year?

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Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals (AMPH - 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Medical peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals is a member of our Medical group, which includes 1139 different companies and currently sits at #6 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 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. Amphastar Pharmaceuticals is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMPH's full-year earnings has moved 22.4% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, AMPH has returned 108.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have lost about 1.2% on average. This shows that Amphastar Pharmaceuticals is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Medical sector, Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 6%.

For Arbutus Biopharma, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 22.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Amphastar Pharmaceuticals belongs to the Medical - Generic Drugs industry, a group that includes 17 individual stocks and currently sits at #79 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 8.8% this year, meaning that AMPH is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Arbutus Biopharma belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. This 548-stock industry is currently ranked #111. The industry has moved -7% year to date.

Amphastar Pharmaceuticals and Arbutus Biopharma could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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