The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Eli Lilly and (LLY) 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 Medical sector should help us answer this question.Eli Lilly and is one of 905 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #3 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. LLY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for LLY's full-year earnings has moved 5.09% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.Based on the latest available data, LLY has gained about 5.81% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Medical sector has returned an average of 0.32% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Eli Lilly and is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.Looking more specifically, LLY belongs to the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry, which includes 14 individual stocks and currently sits at #72 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 0.04% so far this year, so LLY is performing better in this area.Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track LLY. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Eli Lilly and Company (LLY): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.