The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Guardant Health (GH) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Guardant Health is one of 1009 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #2 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GH's full-year earnings has moved 4% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, GH has returned 38.9% so far this year. At the same time, Medical stocks have gained an average of 6.2%. This means that Guardant Health is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Brookdale Senior Living (BKD) is another Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 12.1%.

In Brookdale Senior Living's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Guardant Health is a member of the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 510 individual companies and currently sits at #66 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 7% so far this year, so GH is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Brookdale Senior Living belongs to the Medical - Nursing Homes industry. This 2-stock industry is currently ranked #4. The industry has moved -1.1% year to date.

Investors interested in the Medical sector may want to keep a close eye on Guardant Health and Brookdale Senior Living as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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

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