For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Align Technology (ALGN) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.Align Technology is one of 930 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #13 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. ALGN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALGN's full-year earnings has moved 187.52% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.According to our latest data, ALGN has moved about 63.87% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Medical stocks have gained an average of 3.18%. As we can see, Align Technology is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.Breaking things down more, ALGN is a member of the Medical - Dental Supplies industry, which includes 22 individual companies and currently sits at #70 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 14.73% so far this year, so ALGN is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.ALGN will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.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 Align Technology, Inc. (ALGN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research