Merck (MRK) Stock Moves -1.08%: What You Should Know
Merck (MRK) closed the most recent trading day at $78.72, moving -1.08% from the previous trading session. This move traded in line with S&P 500. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 1.51%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.86%.
Coming into today, shares of the pharmaceutical company had lost 4% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 0.35%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.3%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from MRK as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be July 31, 2020. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.11, down 14.62% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $10.84 billion, down 7.85% from the prior-year quarter.
For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $5.30 per share and revenue of $47.31 billion, which would represent changes of +2.12% and +0.99%, respectively, from the prior year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for MRK. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.
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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.17% lower. MRK currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that MRK has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.01 right now. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 15.71, which means MRK is trading at a discount to the group.
Investors should also note that MRK has a PEG ratio of 2.22 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. MRK's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.17 as of yesterday's close.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 37, putting it in the top 15% 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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Merck Co., Inc. (MRK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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