Are Medical Stocks Lagging Ascendis Pharma (ASND) This Year?

Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Ascendis Pharma A/S (ASND) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.Ascendis Pharma A/S is one of 1003 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #4 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Ascendis Pharma A/S is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASND's full-year earnings has moved 15.5% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.Based on the most recent data, ASND has returned 11.8% so far this year. At the same time, Medical stocks have lost an average of 4.4%. As we can see, Ascendis Pharma A/S is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.Another stock in the Medical sector, Benitec Biopharma Limited (BNTC), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 8.3%.For Benitec Biopharma Limited, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 57.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Looking more specifically, Ascendis Pharma A/S belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 509 individual stocks and currently sits at #75 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 6.7% so far this year, so ASND is performing better in this area. Benitec Biopharma Limited is also part of the same industry.Investors interested in the Medical sector may want to keep a close eye on Ascendis Pharma A/S and Benitec Biopharma Limited as they attempt to continue their solid performance.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>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 Ascendis Pharma A/S (ASND): Free Stock Analysis Report Benitec Biopharma Limited (BNTC): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks