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Is HCA Healthcare (HCA) Outperforming Other Medical Stocks This Year?

Investors interested in Medical stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. HCA Healthcare (HCA) 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.

HCA Healthcare is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 1146 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #4. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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. HCA Healthcare is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HCA's full-year earnings has moved 4.4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

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Based on the latest available data, HCA has gained about 18.4% so far this year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of -0.4%. This means that HCA Healthcare is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Medical stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Harrow Health (HROW). The stock has returned 75.2% year-to-date.

For Harrow Health, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 125.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, HCA Healthcare belongs to the Medical - Hospital industry, a group that includes 5 individual stocks and currently sits at #15 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 15.5% so far this year, so HCA is performing better in this area.

In contrast, Harrow Health falls under the Medical Services industry. Currently, this industry has 69 stocks and is ranked #163. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -7.2%.

Investors interested in the Medical sector may want to keep a close eye on HCA Healthcare and Harrow Health as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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HCA Healthcare, Inc. (HCA) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Harrow Health, Inc. (HROW) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research