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Has Novartis (NVS) Outpaced Other Medical Stocks This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Novartis (NVS - 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? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of NVS and the rest of the Medical group's stocks.

Novartis is one of 866 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #3 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. NVS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NVS's full-year earnings has moved 2.96% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, NVS has moved about 3.16% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Medical stocks have gained an average of 1.71%. This means that Novartis is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, NVS belongs to the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry, a group that includes 14 individual stocks and currently sits at #29 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 1.81% this year, meaning that NVS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

NVS will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.


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