Are Medical Stocks Lagging Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) This Year?

The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.Alnylam Pharmaceuticals is one of 1010 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit 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 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. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALNY's full-year earnings has moved 17.6% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.Based on the latest available data, ALNY has gained about 4.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have lost about 5.1% on average. As we can see, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.Medpace (MEDP) is another Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 1.5%.Over the past three months, Medpace's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.7%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).To break things down more, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, a group that includes 512 individual companies and currently sits at #62 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 13.7% so far this year, so ALNY is performing better in this area.Medpace, however, belongs to the Medical Services industry. Currently, this 59-stock industry is ranked #146. The industry has moved -10.8% so far this year.Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Medpace. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +24.1% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want 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 Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ALNY): Free Stock Analysis Report Medpace Holdings, Inc. (MEDP): 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