Investors focused on the Medical space have likely heard of Illumina (ILMN Quick QuoteILMN - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? 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.

Illumina is a member of our Medical group, which includes 763 different companies and currently sits at #12 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 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. ILMN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ILMN's full-year earnings has moved 5.79% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, ILMN has returned 25.62% so far this year. At the same time, Medical stocks have gained an average of 0.93%. As we can see, Illumina is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Breaking things down more, ILMN is a member of the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 282 individual companies and currently sits at #155 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 3.93% this year, meaning that ILMN is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

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