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Merck (MRK) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
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Merck (MRK - Free Report) closed at $107.63 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.62% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.7%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.87%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 2.77%.
Heading into today, shares of the pharmaceutical company had lost 1.63% over the past month, outpacing the Medical sector's loss of 4.27% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.06% in that time.
Merck will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be April 27, 2023. On that day, Merck is projected to report earnings of $1.42 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 33.64%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $13.8 billion, down 13.2% from the year-ago period.
MRK's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $6.88 per share and revenue of $58.51 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -8.02% and -1.3%, respectively.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Merck. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-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.
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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.07% higher. Merck is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Investors should also note Merck's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 15.56. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 13.95, which means Merck is trading at a premium to the group.
Meanwhile, MRK's PEG ratio is currently 1.95. 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 1.6 at yesterday's closing price.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 107, putting it in the top 43% 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.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.
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Merck (MRK) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Merck (MRK - Free Report) closed at $107.63 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.62% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.7%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.87%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 2.77%.
Heading into today, shares of the pharmaceutical company had lost 1.63% over the past month, outpacing the Medical sector's loss of 4.27% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.06% in that time.
Merck will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release, which is expected to be April 27, 2023. On that day, Merck is projected to report earnings of $1.42 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 33.64%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $13.8 billion, down 13.2% from the year-ago period.
MRK's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $6.88 per share and revenue of $58.51 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -8.02% and -1.3%, respectively.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Merck. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-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.
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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.07% higher. Merck is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
Investors should also note Merck's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 15.56. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 13.95, which means Merck is trading at a premium to the group.
Meanwhile, MRK's PEG ratio is currently 1.95. 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 1.6 at yesterday's closing price.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 107, putting it in the top 43% 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.
You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.