Merck (MRK) Ascends While Market Falls: Some Facts to Note

Merck (MRK) ended the recent trading session at $94, demonstrating a +0.87% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock's change was more than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.78%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.99%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw a decrease of 2.61%.Shares of the pharmaceutical company witnessed a gain of 3.93% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Medical sector with its gain of 0.26% and the S&P 500's loss of 3.48%.The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Merck in its upcoming release. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $2.16, reflecting a 4.35% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $15.75 billion, down 0.16% from the year-ago period.For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $9.01 per share and a revenue of $65.19 billion, representing changes of +17.78% and +1.6%, respectively, from the prior year.Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Merck. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.The Zacks Rank system, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 1.95% lower within the past month. As of now, Merck holds a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).Investors should also note Merck's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 10.34. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 14.5.Meanwhile, MRK's PEG ratio is currently 0.81. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.44 at yesterday's closing price.The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 146, this industry ranks in the bottom 42% of all industries, numbering over 250.The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.Only $1 to See All Zacks' Buys and SellsWe're not kidding.Several years ago, we shocked our members by offering them 30-day access to all our picks for the total sum of only $1. No obligation to spend another cent.Thousands have taken advantage of this opportunity. Thousands did not - they thought there must be a catch. Yes, we do have a reason. We want you to get acquainted with our portfolio services like Surprise Trader, Stocks Under $10, Technology Innovators,and more, that closed 256 positions with double- and triple-digit gains in 2024 alone.See Stocks Now >>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 Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks