For those looking to find strong Computer and Technology stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Advantest Corp. (ATEYY) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Computer and Technology peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Advantest Corp. is one of 619 companies in the Computer and Technology group. The Computer and Technology group currently sits at #1 within 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. Advantest Corp. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATEYY's full-year earnings has moved 81.9% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, ATEYY has returned 74.7% so far this year. In comparison, Computer and Technology companies have returned an average of 27.3%. This means that Advantest Corp. is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Shopify (SHOP) is another Computer and Technology stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 35.9%.

The consensus estimate for Shopify's current year EPS has increased 1.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Advantest Corp. is a member of the Electronics - Measuring Instruments industry, which includes 5 individual companies and currently sits at #13 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 5.4% so far this year, meaning that ATEYY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Shopify falls under the Internet - Services industry. Currently, this industry has 35 stocks and is ranked #40. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +24.2%.

Going forward, investors interested in Computer and Technology stocks should continue to pay close attention to Advantest Corp. and Shopify as they could maintain their solid performance.

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