In the latest trading session, Merck (MRK) closed at $78.83, marking a -1.05% move from the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.8% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.94%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.97%.
Shares of the pharmaceutical company have appreciated by 4.59% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Medical sector's gain of 3.12%, and lagging the S&P 500's gain of 5.12%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Merck in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on July 29, 2025. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $2.03, signifying a 10.96% drop compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $15.68 billion, showing a 2.65% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.
MRK's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $8.92 per share and revenue of $64.75 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +16.6% and +0.9%, respectively.
Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments 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 suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. 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, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 0.02% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Merck is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).
With respect to valuation, Merck is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 8.93. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 13.67.
Investors should also note that MRK has a PEG ratio of 0.83 right now. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.2 as of yesterday's close.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 96, putting it in the top 40% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in 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 use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming 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
