The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Agenus (AGEN) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

Agenus is one of 1010 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 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 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. Agenus is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AGEN's full-year earnings has moved 31.9% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, AGEN has returned 25.9% so far this year. At the same time, Medical stocks have gained an average of 6%. This shows that Agenus is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Medical stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is ANIXA BIOSCIENCES INC (ANIX). The stock has returned 36.6% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, ANIXA BIOSCIENCES INC's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 10.9%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Agenus belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, a group that includes 510 individual stocks and currently sits at #67 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 6.7% so far this year, so AGEN is performing better in this area. ANIXA BIOSCIENCES INC is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Medical sector may want to keep a close eye on Agenus and ANIXA BIOSCIENCES INC as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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