Investors focused on the Medical space have likely heard of Illumina (ILMN), but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Medical peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Illumina is one of 833 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 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 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. ILMN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ILMN's full-year earnings has moved 2.54% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, ILMN has returned 3.59% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have gained about 10.46% on average. This shows that Illumina is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Breaking things down more, ILMN is a member of the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry, which includes 344 individual companies and currently sits at #77 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 15.33% so far this year, so ILMN is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors in the Medical sector will want to keep a close eye on ILMN as it attempts to continue its solid performance.

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