Merck (MRK) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Merck (MRK) closed the latest trading day at $123.85, indicating a +0.19% change from the previous session's end. The stock's performance was ahead of the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.14%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a drop of 0.77%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.17%.
Heading into today, shares of the pharmaceutical company had lost 4.36% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's gain of 0.88% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.34% in that time.
The upcoming earnings release of Merck will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on April 25, 2024. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $2.12, signifying a 51.43% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $15.32 billion, up 5.75% from the prior-year quarter.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $8.58 per share and a revenue of $64.05 billion, indicating changes of +468.21% and +6.54%, respectively, from the former 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. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.
Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.08% lower. Right now, Merck possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Merck has a Forward P/E ratio of 14.41 right now. This indicates no noticeable deviation in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 14.41.
We can also see that MRK currently has a PEG ratio of 0.49. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.73 as of yesterday's close.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 211, positioning it in the bottom 17% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
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Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
