For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is ANI Pharmaceuticals (ANIP) one of those stocks right now? 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.

ANI Pharmaceuticals is one of 1001 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #3 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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. ANI Pharmaceuticals is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ANIP's full-year earnings has moved 23.2% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that ANIP has returned about 29.4% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -5.7%. This means that ANI Pharmaceuticals is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Agenus (AGEN) is another Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 11%.

For Agenus, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 18.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, ANI Pharmaceuticals belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 508 individual stocks and currently sits at #79 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 9% so far this year, so ANIP is performing better in this area. Agenus is also part of the same industry.

Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track ANI Pharmaceuticals and Agenus. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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ANI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (ANIP):Free Stock Analysis Report

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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