For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Aravive (ARAV) been one of those stocks this year? Let’s take a closer look at the stock’s year-to-date performance to find out.
Aravive is one of 1161 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #8 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Aravive is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ARAV’s full-year earnings has moved 5.9% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock’s earnings outlook is more positive.
According to our latest data, ARAV has moved about 2.7% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -6.3%. This shows that Aravive is outperforming its peers so far this year.
One other Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Catalyst Pharmaceutical (CPRX). The stock is up 8.6% year-to-date.
In Catalyst Pharmaceutical’s case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 36.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Aravive belongs to the Medical – Biomedical and Genetics industry, a group that includes 540 individual companies and currently sits at #144 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 10.9% this year, meaning that ARAV is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Catalyst Pharmaceutical, however, belongs to the Medical – Drugs industry. Currently, this 231-stock industry is ranked #149. The industry has moved -9.5% so far this year.
Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to Aravive and Catalyst Pharmaceutical as they could maintain their solid performance.
7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days
Just 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 +25.4% per year. So be sure to give these hand-picked 7 your immediate attention.
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