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Merck (MRK) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
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Merck (MRK - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $77.14, moving +0.25% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.3%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.25%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.33%.
Coming into today, shares of the pharmaceutical company had gained 3.37% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 3.85%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.11%.
Merck will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.45, up 9.85% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $12.62 billion, up 0.84% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.80 per share and revenue of $48.88 billion, which would represent changes of -2.36% and +1.85%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Merck. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
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.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Merck is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Merck is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 13.27. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 13.79.
Meanwhile, MRK's PEG ratio is currently 2. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Large Cap Pharmaceuticals stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.12 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 167, putting it in the bottom 35% 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.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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Merck (MRK) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Merck (MRK - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $77.14, moving +0.25% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.3%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.25%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.33%.
Coming into today, shares of the pharmaceutical company had gained 3.37% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 3.85%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.11%.
Merck will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.45, up 9.85% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $12.62 billion, up 0.84% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.80 per share and revenue of $48.88 billion, which would represent changes of -2.36% and +1.85%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Merck. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
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.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Merck is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Merck is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 13.27. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 13.79.
Meanwhile, MRK's PEG ratio is currently 2. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Large Cap Pharmaceuticals stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 2.12 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 167, putting it in the bottom 35% 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.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.