We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
Merck (MRK) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know
Read MoreHide Full Article
Merck (MRK - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $82.99, moving -0.58% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.23%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.54%.
Heading into today, shares of the pharmaceutical company had gained 2.97% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's gain of 3.7% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.5% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from MRK as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.35, up 16.38% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $12.59 billion, up 6.06% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.90 per share and revenue of $48.09 billion, which would represent changes of +13.68% and +2.66%, respectively, from the prior year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for MRK. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.08% lower. MRK is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, MRK is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 14.14. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 14.44, so we one might conclude that MRK is trading at a discount comparatively.
We can also see that MRK currently has a PEG ratio of 1.98. 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. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.23 at yesterday's closing price.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 169, which puts it in the bottom 34% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.
Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
See More Zacks Research for These Tickers
Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:
Image: Bigstock
Merck (MRK) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know
Merck (MRK - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $82.99, moving -0.58% from the previous trading session. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.23%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.54%.
Heading into today, shares of the pharmaceutical company had gained 2.97% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's gain of 3.7% and the S&P 500's gain of 3.5% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from MRK as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.35, up 16.38% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $12.59 billion, up 6.06% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.90 per share and revenue of $48.09 billion, which would represent changes of +13.68% and +2.66%, respectively, from the prior year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for MRK. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
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. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 1.08% lower. MRK is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, MRK is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 14.14. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 14.44, so we one might conclude that MRK is trading at a discount comparatively.
We can also see that MRK currently has a PEG ratio of 1.98. 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. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.23 at yesterday's closing price.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 169, which puts it in the bottom 34% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.
Make sure to utilize Zacks. Com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.