Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Blachem (BCPC) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Basic Materials sector should help us answer this question.

Blachem is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 234 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #13. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BCPC's full-year earnings has moved 5.7% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, BCPC has gained about 21.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of -2.2% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Blachem is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is MAG Silver (MAG). The stock has returned 47.2% year-to-date.

In MAG Silver's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 12.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Blachem belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry, which includes 33 individual stocks and currently sits at #170 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 12.5% so far this year, so BCPC is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, MAG Silver falls under the Mining - Silver industry. Currently, this industry has 9 stocks and is ranked #138. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +25.1%.

Blachem and MAG Silver could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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