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Merck (MRK) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
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In the latest trading session, Merck (MRK - Free Report) closed at $115.58, marking a +1.61% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.33%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.14%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 2.94%.
Heading into today, shares of the pharmaceutical company had gained 5.69% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's gain of 7.14% and the S&P 500's gain of 6.11% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Merck as it approaches 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. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $13.84 billion, down 12.99% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $6.88 per share and revenue of $58.58 billion, which would represent changes of -8.02% and -1.18%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Merck. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
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 has moved 0.15% higher. Merck currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Merck is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 16.53. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.8.
Also, we should mention that MRK has a PEG ratio of 2.06. 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. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.83 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 67, which puts it in the top 27% 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 follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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Merck (MRK) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
In the latest trading session, Merck (MRK - Free Report) closed at $115.58, marking a +1.61% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 1.33%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.14%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 2.94%.
Heading into today, shares of the pharmaceutical company had gained 5.69% over the past month, lagging the Medical sector's gain of 7.14% and the S&P 500's gain of 6.11% in that time.
Investors will be hoping for strength from Merck as it approaches 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. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $13.84 billion, down 12.99% from the year-ago period.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $6.88 per share and revenue of $58.58 billion, which would represent changes of -8.02% and -1.18%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Merck. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
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 has moved 0.15% higher. Merck currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Merck is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 16.53. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.8.
Also, we should mention that MRK has a PEG ratio of 2.06. 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. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.83 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 67, which puts it in the top 27% 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 follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.