Investors interested in Aerospace stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Archer Aviation Inc. (ACHR) 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 Aerospace peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Archer Aviation Inc. is a member of our Aerospace group, which includes 51 different companies and currently sits at #6 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Archer Aviation Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACHR's full-year earnings has moved 6.4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, ACHR has returned 6.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Aerospace group have gained about 0.2% on average. This means that Archer Aviation Inc. is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

AeroVironment (AVAV) is another Aerospace stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 2%.

For AeroVironment, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Archer Aviation Inc. belongs to the Aerospace - Defense industry, a group that includes 24 individual companies and currently sits at #136 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 0.5% so far this year, so ACHR is performing better in this area.

In contrast, AeroVironment falls under the Aerospace - Defense Equipment industry. Currently, this industry has 26 stocks and is ranked #94. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +1.9%.

Investors with an interest in Aerospace stocks should continue to track Archer Aviation Inc. and AeroVironment. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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