Is Quest Diagnostics (DGX) Stock Outpacing Its Medical Peers This Year?

Investors focused on the Medical space have likely heard of Quest Diagnostics (DGX), but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Quest Diagnostics is a member of our Medical group, which includes 980 different companies and currently sits at #12 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. DGX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for DGX's full-year earnings has moved 26.67% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, DGX has moved about 11.59% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Medical sector has returned an average of 0.02% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Quest Diagnostics is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Breaking things down more, DGX is a member of the Medical - Outpatient and Home Healthcare industry, which includes 17 individual companies and currently sits at #69 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 0.03% so far this year, so DGX is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track DGX. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.

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