Merck (MRK) Stock Slides as Market Rises: Facts to Know Before You Trade

Merck (MRK) ended the recent trading session at $80.93, demonstrating a -1.77% change from the preceding day's closing price. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.83%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.77%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.02%. The stock of pharmaceutical company has risen by 5.26% in the past month, leading the Medical sector's gain of 2.2% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.99%.The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Merck in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on July 29, 2025. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $2.04, marking a 10.53% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $15.68 billion, reflecting a 2.65% fall from the equivalent quarter last year. MRK's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $8.91 per share and revenue of $64.75 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +16.47% and +0.9%, respectively. Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Merck. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits. Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model. 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 last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.1% lower. Merck currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold). With respect to valuation, Merck is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 9.25. This indicates a discount in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 14.05. One should further note that MRK currently holds a PEG ratio of 0.85. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.27 as of yesterday's close. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 53, putting it in the top 22% of all 250+ industries. The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these 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. Don’t Miss Out on These Stocks Before you make your next investing move, we have a free report that highlights the %%CTA_TEXT%% to buy.Our experts at Zacks Investment Research hand-selected these stocks for their eye-opening growth projections.Since 1988, our stock picks have more than doubled the S&P 500 with an average gain of +23.89% per year using the Zacks Rank stock-rating system.Register now to see the %%CTA_TEXT%%.7 best stocksWant 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