For those looking to find strong Computer and Technology stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is International Business Machines (IBM Quick QuoteIBM - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Computer and Technology sector should help us answer this question.

International Business Machines is a member of our Computer and Technology group, which includes 631 different companies and currently sits at #2 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. IBM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IBM's full-year earnings has moved 1.08% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that IBM has returned about 7.23% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Computer and Technology companies have returned an average of 2.97%. This means that International Business Machines is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Looking more specifically, IBM belongs to the Computer - Integrated Systems industry, a group that includes 8 individual stocks and currently sits at #114 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 4.20% so far this year, so IBM is performing better in this area.

Investors in the Computer and Technology sector will want to keep a close eye on IBM as it attempts to continue its solid performance.