Investors focused on the Medical space have likely heard of Vericel (VCEL Quick QuoteVCEL - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of VCEL and the rest of the Medical group's stocks.

Vericel is one of 841 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #2 within 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. VCEL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VCEL's full-year earnings has moved 31.68% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that VCEL has returned about 210.64% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have gained about 1.12% on average. This shows that Vericel is outperforming its peers so far this year.

To break things down more, VCEL belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, a group that includes 341 individual companies and currently sits at #66 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 15.77% so far this year, so VCEL is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track VCEL. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.