For those looking to find strong Computer and Technology stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Apple (AAPL) 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.

Apple is a member of our Computer and Technology group, which includes 631 different companies and currently sits at #2 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. AAPL is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AAPL's full-year earnings has moved 5.19% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that AAPL has returned about 5.40% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Computer and Technology companies have returned an average of 2.97%. This means that Apple is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Breaking things down more, AAPL is a member of the Computer - Mini computers industry, which includes 4 individual companies and currently sits at #60 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 5.38% so far this year, so AAPL is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors with an interest in Computer and Technology stocks should continue to track AAPL. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.

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