Is Auna S.A. (AUNA) Stock Outpacing Its Medical Peers This Year?

The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Auna S.A. (AUNA) 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? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Medical sector should help us answer this question.

Auna S.A. is one of 925 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #10 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Auna S.A. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AUNA's full-year earnings has moved 7.5% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, AUNA has gained about 5.7% so far this year. At the same time, Medical stocks have lost an average of 1.8%. This means that Auna S.A. is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Medical stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Brookdale Senior Living (BKD). The stock has returned 34.3% year-to-date.

For Brookdale Senior Living, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 91.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Auna S.A. belongs to the Medical Services industry, a group that includes 66 individual companies and currently sits at #141 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 6.5% so far this year, so AUNA is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Brookdale Senior Living, however, belongs to the Medical - Nursing Homes industry. Currently, this 2-stock industry is ranked #4. The industry has moved +23.5% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Medical sector may want to keep a close eye on Auna S.A. 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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