Are Business Services Stocks Lagging Agora (API) This Year?
For those looking to find strong Business Services stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Agora, Inc. Sponsored ADR (API) 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Business Services peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Agora, Inc. Sponsored ADR is one of 312 individual stocks in the Business Services sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #4 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 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. Agora, Inc. Sponsored ADR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for API's full-year earnings has moved 10.6% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that API has returned about 87.8% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Business Services sector has returned an average of 14.4% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Agora, Inc. Sponsored ADR is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
One other Business Services stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is ExlService Holdings (EXLS). The stock is up 24.5% year-to-date.
For ExlService Holdings, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Agora, Inc. Sponsored ADR belongs to the Technology Services industry, a group that includes 167 individual stocks and currently sits at #59 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 28.7% so far this year, so API is performing better in this area.
ExlService Holdings, however, belongs to the Outsourcing industry. Currently, this 12-stock industry is ranked #23. The industry has moved +18.2% so far this year.
Agora, Inc. Sponsored ADR and ExlService Holdings could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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