Are Medical Stocks Lagging Abbott Laboratories (ABT) This Year?

Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Abbott (ABT) 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? 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.Abbott is a member of our Medical group, which includes 1011 different companies and currently sits at #1 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. Abbott is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ABT's full-year earnings has moved 0.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.According to our latest data, ABT has moved about 0.3% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Medical stocks have lost an average of 4.8%. As we can see, Abbott is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.Acurx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ACXP) is another Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 3.2%.For Acurx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).To break things down more, Abbott belongs to the Medical - Products industry, a group that includes 82 individual companies and currently sits at #87 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 9.4% so far this year, so ABT is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.Acurx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. however, belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Currently, this 513-stock industry is ranked #66. The industry has moved -13.1% so far this year.Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to Abbott and Acurx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. as they could maintain their solid performance.Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Abbott Laboratories (ABT): Free Stock Analysis Report Acurx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ACXP): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks