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Has Activision Blizzard (ATVI) Outpaced Other Consumer Discretionary Stocks This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Consumer Discretionary stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Activision Blizzard, Inc one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Consumer Discretionary sector should help us answer this question.

Activision Blizzard, Inc is a member of our Consumer Discretionary group, which includes 282 different companies and currently sits at #10 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 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. Activision Blizzard, Inc is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATVI's full-year earnings has moved 3.2% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, ATVI has returned 18.9% so far this year. In comparison, Consumer Discretionary companies have returned an average of 13.9%. This means that Activision Blizzard, Inc is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Carnival (CCL - Free Report) . The stock is up 134.5% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Carnival's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 55.1%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Activision Blizzard, Inc belongs to the Toys - Games - Hobbies industry, a group that includes 7 individual companies and currently sits at #57 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 19.8% this year, meaning that ATVI is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Carnival belongs to the Leisure and Recreation Services industry. This 34-stock industry is currently ranked #72. The industry has moved +30% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to Activision Blizzard, Inc and Carnival as they could maintain their solid performance.


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