Is Advantest (ATEYY) Stock Outpacing Its Computer and Technology Peers This Year?

Investors interested in Computer and Technology stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Advantest Corp. (ATEYY) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Advantest Corp. is a member of our Computer and Technology group, which includes 610 different companies and currently sits at #5 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. Advantest Corp. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATEYY's full-year earnings has moved 12.2% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that ATEYY has returned about 42.2% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Computer and Technology companies have returned an average of -2.6%. This means that Advantest Corp. is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Computer and Technology sector, Fastly (FSLY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 79.4%.

In Fastly's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 6.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Advantest Corp. belongs to the Electronics - Measuring Instruments industry, a group that includes 5 individual companies and currently sits at #39 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 19.5% so far this year, so ATEYY is performing better in this area.

In contrast, Fastly falls under the Internet - Software industry. Currently, this industry has 174 stocks and is ranked #89. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -12.1%.

Investors with an interest in Computer and Technology stocks should continue to track Advantest Corp. and Fastly. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.