Are Computer and Technology Stocks Lagging Applied Materials (AMAT) This Year?

Investors interested in Computer and Technology stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Applied Materials (AMAT) 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 Computer and Technology sector should help us answer this question.

Applied Materials is a member of our Computer and Technology group, which includes 612 different companies and currently sits at #2 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 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. Applied Materials is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMAT's full-year earnings has moved 9.3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that AMAT has returned about 108.7% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Computer and Technology group have gained about 9.6% on average. As we can see, Applied Materials is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

ASE Technology Hldg (ASX) is another Computer and Technology stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 128.8%.

The consensus estimate for ASE Technology Hldg's current year EPS has increased 7.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Applied Materials belongs to the Electronics - Semiconductors industry, a group that includes 50 individual stocks and currently sits at #62 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 28.3% so far this year, meaning that AMAT is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. ASE Technology Hldg is also part of the same industry.

Going forward, investors interested in Computer and Technology stocks should continue to pay close attention to Applied Materials and ASE Technology Hldg as they could maintain their solid performance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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