Is Alignment Healthcare (ALHC) Stock Outpacing Its Medical Peers This Year?

The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Alignment Healthcare (ALHC) one of those stocks right now? 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.Alignment Healthcare is one of 1012 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 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. Alignment Healthcare is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALHC's full-year earnings has moved 16.9% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.Based on the latest available data, ALHC has gained about 33.5% so far this year. At the same time, Medical stocks have gained an average of 4.9%. As we can see, Alignment Healthcare is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.Another stock in the Medical sector, Fresenius (FMS), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 5%.In Fresenius' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 3.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Breaking things down more, Alignment Healthcare is a member of the Medical Services industry, which includes 59 individual companies and currently sits at #71 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 3% so far this year, meaning that ALHC is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.In contrast, Fresenius falls under the Medical - Instruments industry. Currently, this industry has 84 stocks and is ranked #84. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -3.1%.Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track Alignment Healthcare and Fresenius. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is among the most innovative financial firms. With a fast-growing customer base (already 50+ million) and a diverse set of cutting edge solutions, this stock is poised for big gains. 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 Alignment Healthcare, Inc. (ALHC): Free Stock Analysis Report Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA (FMS): 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