For those looking to find strong Computer and Technology stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Orange (ORANY) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Orange is one of 608 individual stocks in the Computer and Technology sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #7 in 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. Orange is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ORANY's full-year earnings has moved 3.4% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that ORANY has returned about 46% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Computer and Technology stocks have lost an average of 19.4%. This means that Orange is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Computer and Technology stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is RELX PLC (RELX). The stock is up 14.6% year-to-date.

In RELX PLC's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 6.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Orange belongs to the Wireless Non-US industry, a group that includes 14 individual stocks and currently sits at #57 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 12.6% this year, meaning that ORANY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

RELX PLC, however, belongs to the Internet - Content industry. Currently, this 12-stock industry is ranked #52. The industry has moved +9.9% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Computer and Technology sector may want to keep a close eye on Orange and RELX PLC as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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

Zacks Investment Research

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