For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Aclaris Therapeutics (ACRS) 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.
Aclaris Therapeutics is one of 1182 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #10 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. Aclaris Therapeutics is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACRS’ full-year earnings has moved 16.9% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock’s earnings outlook is improving.
Our latest available data shows that ACRS has returned about 1.5% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -12.8%. As we can see, Aclaris Therapeutics is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Medical sector, Alkermes (ALKS), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock’s year-to-date return is 26%.
For Alkermes, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 13% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, Aclaris Therapeutics belongs to the Medical – Drugs industry, which includes 231 individual stocks and currently sits at #149 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 22.1% so far this year, so ACRS is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Alkermes falls under the Medical – Biomedical and Genetics industry. Currently, this industry has 550 stocks and is ranked #104. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -23.5%.
Aclaris Therapeutics and Alkermes could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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