The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Atossa Genetics Inc. (ATOS) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Atossa Genetics Inc. is one of 1017 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #4 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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. Atossa Genetics Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATOS' full-year earnings has moved 6.5% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that ATOS has returned about 55.7% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of 12.6%. This means that Atossa Genetics Inc. is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Medical sector, DiaMedica Therapeutics, Inc. (DMAC), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 38.4%.

For DiaMedica Therapeutics, Inc. the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 10.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Atossa Genetics Inc. belongs to the Medical - Instruments industry, a group that includes 85 individual companies and currently sits at #77 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 10.5% this year, meaning that ATOS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

DiaMedica Therapeutics, Inc. however, belongs to the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Currently, this 497-stock industry is ranked #82. The industry has moved +2.3% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to Atossa Genetics Inc. and DiaMedica Therapeutics, Inc. as they could maintain their solid performance.

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