Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Needs To Move On From Talking About Its Animal Division, Says Jim Cramer

We recently published 13 Stocks That Jim Cramer Recently Talked About. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s shares have lost 18.3% year-to-date on the back of several factors, such as troubles in China and the expiration of its KEYTRUDA patents.  Cramer’s previous comments about the firm have praised the firm’s deal with Verona, through which it will get access to a chronic pulmonary obstructive disease (COPD) treatment. The acquisition is important as investors have grown concerned about Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s drug pipeline and wondered whether future drugs will mimic KEYTRUDA’s success. Cramer discussed these factors:

“Well, this GARDASIL, when is it? The Chinese are not really helping them sell, because you would have thought the Chinese would. . .and then you’ve got the KEYTRUDA, you know the patent cliff coming up. . .it’s amazing, but they are talking about their animal division. When you’re talking about your animal division you don’t have enough [inaudible] to talk.”

Later in the day, he commented on Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s earnings:

“What do we make of the numbers that we got from Merck this morning? The pharma titan reported what some thought was a mixed quarter. I actually liked it. Small revenue miss, paired with an 11-cent earnings beat. Stock got hit, finishing the day down nearly 2% although it was a lot lower at one point.

Merck’s had a tough time over the past year, falling 45% from its highs in June of 2024 before recovering only modestly over the past couple weeks. Wall Street seems to be worried about that looming patent cliff for their blockbuster… best drug ever, Keytruda, which accounts for about half of the company’s sales. Doesn’t help that GARDASIL, their HPV vaccines, really struggled thanks to persistent weakness in China… While Merck’s made some excellent acquisitions to expand the drug pipeline, stock hasn’t gotten much credit for it. I think that’s wrong.”

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READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.