Merck (MRK) Outperforms Broader Market: What You Need to Know

Merck (MRK) ended the recent trading session at $78.56, demonstrating a +1.24% change from the preceding day's closing price. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.59%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 0.65%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.44%. Prior to today's trading, shares of the pharmaceutical company had lost 6.74% lagged the Medical sector's loss of 0.94% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.72%.The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Merck in its forthcoming earnings report. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $2.37, reflecting a 50.96% increase from the same quarter last year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $17.19 billion, showing a 3.18% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter. For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $8.93 per share and revenue of $64.94 billion, which would represent changes of +16.73% and +1.21%, respectively, from the prior year. Investors should also take note of any recent adjustments to analyst estimates for Merck. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the business and profitability. Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. 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, ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), possesses a remarkable history of outdoing, externally audited, with #1 stocks returning an average annual gain of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Merck is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). From a valuation perspective, Merck is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 8.69. This denotes a discount relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 13.72. It is also worth noting that MRK currently has a PEG ratio of 0.8. 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. MRK's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.5 as of yesterday's close. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 85, finds itself in the top 35% echelons of all 250+ industries. The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1. You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com. Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant 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 ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks