Merck (MRK) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know
Merck (MRK) closed the most recent trading day at $105.53, moving -1.31% from the previous trading session. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.16% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.12%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 3.64%.
Coming into today, shares of the pharmaceutical company had lost 2.22% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 0.9%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.07%.
Merck will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be April 27, 2023. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.42, down 33.64% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $13.8 billion, down 13.2% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $6.87 per share and revenue of $58.51 billion. These totals would mark changes of -8.16% and -1.3%, respectively, from last year.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Merck should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.05% higher. Merck currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Digging into valuation, Merck currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.56. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.1.
We can also see that MRK currently has a PEG ratio of 1.94. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Large Cap Pharmaceuticals stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.75 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 95, putting it in the top 38% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order 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.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
