Do Wall Street Analysts Like Merck & Company Stock?

Merck & Company, Inc. (MRK), headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey, provides a range of drugs and vaccines globally. With a market cap of $322.1 billion, its flagship drug, Keytruda, has been pivotal in oncology, alongside vaccines like Gardasil. This breadth sustains Merck's robust revenue growth and leadership in healthcare innovation.

The mega-cap stock has underperformed the broader market over the past 52 weeks. MRK has gained 14.5% over this time frame, while the broader S&P 500 Index ($SPX) has rallied 26.6%. However, in 2024, shares of the drug maker are up 20.3%, outpacing SPX's 11.3% gains on a YTD basis.

Zooming in further, MRK has outpaced the S&P Pharmaceuticals SPDR's (XPH) marginal gains over the past 52 weeks.

MRK has underperformed the broader market over the past year due to concerns about Keytruda's impending loss of exclusivity. However, it surged in early 2024 on optimism for its future beyond Keytruda and the $680 million acquisition of Harpoon Therapeutics. MRK stock surged on April 25 following strong Q1 earnings results, exceeding Wall Street forecasts with robust sales of Keytruda and vaccines.

For the current fiscal year, ending in December, analysts expect MRK's EPS to grow by 475.5% to $8.69. The company's earnings surprise history is robust. It beat estimates in all of the last four quarters.

Among the 22 analysts covering the stock, the consensus rating is a “Strong Buy.” That’s based on 20 “Strong Buy” ratings and two “Holds.”

This configuration has remained consistent over the past months.

In late April, Truist Securities analyst Robyn Karnauskas, maintained a “Buy” rating on Merck and raised the price target from $142 to $143, which implies an upside potential of 9.1% from current levels.

The mean price target of $138.14 represents a premium of just 5.4% to MRK's current levels. The Street-high price target of $155 suggests that the stock could rally as much as 18.2%.

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On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.

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