Investors focused on the Computer and Technology space have likely heard of Applied Materials (AMAT), but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.Applied Materials is one of 625 companies in the Computer and Technology group. The Computer and Technology group currently sits at #7 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 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. AMAT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMAT's full-year earnings has moved 20.37% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.Our latest available data shows that AMAT has returned about 40.32% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Computer and Technology group have gained about 2.11% on average. This means that Applied Materials is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.To break things down more, AMAT belongs to the Semiconductor Equipment - Wafer Fabrication industry, a group that includes 4 individual companies and currently sits at #38 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 23.12% this year, meaning that AMAT is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.AMAT will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Computer and Technology 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 Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT): Get Free Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research