Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. ANI Pharmaceuticals (ANIP) 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.

ANI Pharmaceuticals is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 1012 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #3. 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader 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 0.1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that ANIP has returned about 7% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have gained about 6% on average. As we can see, ANI Pharmaceuticals is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Medical stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Dynavax Technologies (DVAX). The stock has returned 8.7% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Dynavax Technologies' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 11.4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, ANI Pharmaceuticals belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 510 individual stocks and currently sits at #73 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 6% so far this year, meaning that ANIP is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Dynavax Technologies is also part of the same industry.

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

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

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