The health care space remains in the pink this year with the right dosage of strong earnings, merger and acquisition activity, and the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare. An aging population is a dietary supplement for better results (read:4 Sector ETFs Outperforming in 2015).

In addition, the sector’s non-cyclical nature is an advantage in the current environment, where concerns are spiking on global growth, stretched valuations, Greece crisis and uncertainty regarding the rate hike. The pharma stocks are soaring, but the biotech is the real winner, having emerged as a leader yet gain in the health care world and the broader market from the year-to-date look.

That being said, ALPS Medical Breakthroughs ETF ((SBIO - ETF report)) is the top biotech ETF of 2015 with about 38.6% returns so far.

SBIO in Focus

This fund targets companies with one or more drugs in Phase II or Phase III FDA clinical trials by tracking the Poliwogg Medical Breakthroughs Index. It is a small cap centric fund, having amassed $92 million in its asset base since its debut late December. The product charges 50 bps in fees per year from investors and trades in average daily volume of around 68,000 shares.

It holds 72 stocks in its basket with a slight tilt toward the top firm at 7.11% while others hold less than 5% share. Though almost all the stocks in the fund’s portfolio have delivered impressive returns, a few of them were the real stars which more than doubled their size.

Below, we have highlighted those five best performing stocks in the ETF with their respective positions in the fund’s basket (read: 3 Biotech ETFs Crushing the Market in 2015):

Best Performing Stocks of SBIO

Horizon Pharma (HZNP - Snapshot Report): The stock has been flying higher, surging about 146% in the year-to-date time frame. It touched an all-time high of $33.32 on June 8. The performance by this specialty drug maker was buoyed by strong earnings estimate revisions and the expected growth rate.

The stock is seeing earnings estimates rising 4 cents for this year and 8 cents for the next over the past 30 days that would result in a solid growth of 23.4% and 45.1% annually for fiscal 2015 and 2016, respectively. This is well above the industry average of 5.6% for this year and 14.4% for the next. Further, revenue growth for the company is also encouraging at 100.2% versus -4.4% industry average for 2015 and 26.6% versus 5.6% for 2016. HZNP, having Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) and Momentum Style Score of ‘B’, occupies the sixth position in the fund’s basket with 4.1% of the total assets.

Synageva BioPharma (GEVA -Snapshot Report): This stock dominates the fund’s return with 7.2% allocation. It has delivered incredible returns of over 146% so far in the year, hitting a record high of $229.22. Though the earnings estimate revisions are trending down, the stock is showing solid momentum lately with Momentum Style Score of ‘A’ (see: all the Health care ETFs here).

Further, the company has generated positive earnings surprises in the two out of the four past quarters, with an average positive surprise of 0.2%. Revenue growth of 6.9% for this fiscal year seems attractive given the industry average revenue decline to 4.4%. The stock has a Zacks Rank #3.

ImmunoGen (IMGN - Snapshot Report): It currently has a Zacks Rank #3 with a solid Growth Style Score of ‘A’ and Momentum Style Score of ‘B’. The stock gained momentum at the start of June when the shares soared about 72% in a single trading session to hit a 14-month high of $15.88. The massive upside came following the company’s encouraging Phase 1 trial results of its experimental ovarian cancer treatment at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.

Year to date, the stock has risen about 134.6% and accounts for only 1.02% share in SBIO (read: SBIO Vs. BBC: 2 Innovative Biotech ETFs Head-To-Head).

Anacor Pharmaceuticals (ANAC - Snapshot Report): This stock takes the twelfth spot in the fund’s basket with 2.5% of SBIO. The company has seen solid earnings estimate revision over the past 60 days from -$1.50 to -$1.28 for 2015 and from -$0.62 to -$0.29 for 2016. This represents a respective substantial year-over-year increase of 36.78% and 77.14% compared to the industry average growth of 2.3% and 14.1%. Further, the company has consistently surpassed expectations over the last four quarters, with an average earnings surprise of 27.52%.

Having an incredible growth aspect, ANAC recently reached a new high of $72.48 and was up nearly 115% year to date. Anacor has a Zacks Rank #2 with solid Growth Style Score of ‘A’.

Halozyme Therapeutics (HALO - Snapshot Report): The stock climbed nearly 115% so far this year to reach a new all-time high of $21.24. The company’s earnings are expected to grow 27.98% annually for this year and 40.50% for the next. These are well above the industry averages of 2.3% and 14.1% earnings growth over 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Notably, the Zacks Consensus Estimate is currently pegged at a loss of $0.40 for fiscal 2015 and $0.24 for fiscal 2016, narrower than a loss of $0.45 and $0.27, respectively, over the last 60 days. HALO has a Zacks Rank #3 with a good combination of Growth Style Score of ‘B’ and a Momentum Style Score of ‘A’. The stock occupies the fifteenth position in the fund’s portfolio, making up for 2.2% share.

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