Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of Lithium Americas (LAC), but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Basic Materials peers, we might be able to answer that question.Lithium Americas is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 245 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #3. 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 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. LAC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for LAC's full-year earnings has moved 25% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.Based on the most recent data, LAC has returned 21.19% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 19.11%. This shows that Lithium Americas is outperforming its peers so far this year.Looking more specifically, LAC belongs to the Chemical - Diversified industry, which includes 42 individual stocks and currently sits at #69 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 11.50% this year, meaning that LAC is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.LAC will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials 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 Lithium Americas Corp. (LAC): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.