Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Impresses Jim Cramer With Its Toughness

We recently published 10 Stocks Jim Cramer Discussed As He Questioned Official Data. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s shares have lost 16% year-to-date as investors continue to be disappointed by the dropping revenue of its GARDASIL HPV drug in China. They are also worried about the patent expiration of the firm’s mega cancer drug KEYTRUDA and wondering whether Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) will be able to follow up with an equally successful successor. However, the shares did gain 3% this week after Pfizer announced that its bladder cancer drug PADCEV improves survival rates when paired with KEYTRUDA. Cramer was impressed as he commented:

“Look at Merck. I mean, Saint Merck. What a tough, what a tough.”

Here are his earlier comments about Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK):

“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.”

While we acknowledge the potential of MRK as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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.