For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Eli Lilly and (LLY Quick QuoteLLY - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Medical sector should help us answer this question.

Eli Lilly and is a member of our Medical group, which includes 845 different companies and currently sits at #5 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. LLY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LLY's full-year earnings has moved 0.03% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, LLY has returned 26.39% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have gained about 1.84% on average. This shows that Eli Lilly and is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Breaking things down more, LLY is a member of the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry, which includes 14 individual companies and currently sits at #55 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 6.60% so far this year, so LLY is performing better in this area.

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