Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of DAQO New Energy (DQ), but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Basic Materials sector should help us answer this question.DAQO New Energy is one of 239 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #6 within 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. DQ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for DQ's full-year earnings has moved 30% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.Based on the most recent data, DQ has returned 81.10% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 1.81% on average. This means that DAQO New Energy is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.To break things down more, DQ belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry, a group that includes 35 individual companies and currently sits at #132 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 1.57% this year, meaning that DQ is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to DQ as it looks 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 DAQO New Energy Corp. (DQ): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.