For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Catalyst Pharmaceutical (CPRX) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Medical peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Catalyst Pharmaceutical is one of 1193 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #6 within 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. Catalyst Pharmaceutical is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CPRX's full-year earnings has moved 4.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the latest available data, CPRX has gained about 89.5% so far this year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -23.4%. This means that Catalyst Pharmaceutical is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
IMARA Inc. (IMRA) is another Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 1.3%.
Over the past three months, IMARA Inc.'s consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 23.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Catalyst Pharmaceutical belongs to the Medical - Drugs industry, a group that includes 218 individual stocks and currently sits at #82 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 28.7% this year, meaning that CPRX is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
IMARA Inc. however, belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Currently, this 564-stock industry is ranked #85. The industry has moved -25.8% so far this year.
Catalyst Pharmaceutical and IMARA Inc. could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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