Has Assertio (ASRT) Outpaced Other Medical Stocks This Year?

For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Assertio (ASRT) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Assertio is a member of our Medical group, which includes 1184 different companies and currently sits at #6 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. Assertio is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASRT's full-year earnings has moved 27.3% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, ASRT has gained about 16.5% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have lost about 20.8% on average. As we can see, Assertio is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another stock in the Medical sector, Axonics Modulation Technologies (AXNX), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 22.3%.

In Axonics Modulation Technologies' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 14.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Assertio is a member of the Medical - Drugs industry, which includes 220 individual companies and currently sits at #80 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 25% so far this year, so ASRT is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Axonics Modulation Technologies belongs to the Medical Info Systems industry. This 49-stock industry is currently ranked #92. The industry has moved -36.1% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to Assertio and Axonics Modulation Technologies as they could maintain their solid performance.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.