The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Anavex Life Sciences (AVXL) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? 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.

Anavex Life Sciences is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 1020 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #2. 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Anavex Life Sciences is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AVXL's full-year earnings has moved 8.8% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, AVXL has returned 18.6% so far this year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -5.2%. This shows that Anavex Life Sciences is outperforming its peers so far this year.

AbbVie (ABBV) is another Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 13.7%.

Over the past three months, AbbVie's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.9%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Anavex Life Sciences is a member of the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 501 individual companies and currently sits at #59 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 13.1% so far this year, so AVXL is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, AbbVie falls under the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry. Currently, this industry has 12 stocks and is ranked #141. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +1.8%.

Anavex Life Sciences and AbbVie could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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