Merck (MRK) closed at $100.69 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.52% move from the prior day. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.79%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.14%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 1.38%.
Shares of the pharmaceutical company have appreciated by 4.35% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Medical sector's gain of 1.26%, and the S&P 500's gain of 0.87%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Merck in its upcoming release. In that report, analysts expect Merck to post earnings of $2.08 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 20.93%. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $16.18 billion, indicating a 3.56% upward movement from the same quarter last year.
MRK's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $8.98 per share and revenue of $64.81 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +17.39% and +1%, respectively.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Merck. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.06% lower. Merck is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
In the context of valuation, Merck is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 11.05. This denotes a discount relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 13.38.
Investors should also note that MRK has a PEG ratio of 0.96 right now. 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 average PEG ratio for the Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry stood at 1.62 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 184, putting it in the bottom 26% 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.
Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
Zacks Investment Research
