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Merck (MRK) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know
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Merck (MRK - Free Report) closed at $75.36 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.82% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%.
Coming into today, shares of the pharmaceutical company had gained 1.05% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 2.12%, while the S&P 500 gained 2.07%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from MRK as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be October 28, 2021. In that report, analysts expect MRK to post earnings of $1.52 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 12.64%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $12.43 billion, down 0.94% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.51 per share and revenue of $47.03 billion. These totals would mark changes of -7.24% and -2.02%, respectively, from last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for MRK. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
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, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.13% 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 13.78 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 14.5, so we one might conclude that MRK is trading at a discount comparatively.
It is also worth noting that MRK currently has a PEG ratio of 2.23. 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. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry currently 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 123, putting it in the top 49% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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Merck (MRK) Dips More Than Broader Markets: What You Should Know
Merck (MRK - Free Report) closed at $75.36 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.82% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.13%.
Coming into today, shares of the pharmaceutical company had gained 1.05% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector gained 2.12%, while the S&P 500 gained 2.07%.
Investors will be hoping for strength from MRK as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be October 28, 2021. In that report, analysts expect MRK to post earnings of $1.52 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 12.64%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $12.43 billion, down 0.94% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $5.51 per share and revenue of $47.03 billion. These totals would mark changes of -7.24% and -2.02%, respectively, from last year.
Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for MRK. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
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, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.13% 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 13.78 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 14.5, so we one might conclude that MRK is trading at a discount comparatively.
It is also worth noting that MRK currently has a PEG ratio of 2.23. 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. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry currently 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 123, putting it in the top 49% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order 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.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.