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Merck (MRK) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
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Merck (MRK - Free Report) closed at $110.81 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.39% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.7%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.56%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 7.5%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the pharmaceutical company had gained 1.29% over the past month. This has outpaced the Medical sector's loss of 1.89% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.94% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Merck as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be February 2, 2023. In that report, analysts expect Merck to post earnings of $1.55 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 13.89%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $13.71 billion, up 1.36% from the year-ago period.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Merck should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.61% lower within the past month. Merck is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Merck has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.13 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 14.54, so we one might conclude that Merck is trading at a premium comparatively.
Investors should also note that MRK has a PEG ratio of 1.39 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.75 as of yesterday's close.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 84, which puts it in the top 34% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.
To follow MRK in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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Merck (MRK) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
Merck (MRK - Free Report) closed at $110.81 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.39% move from the prior day. This move lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.7%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.56%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 7.5%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the pharmaceutical company had gained 1.29% over the past month. This has outpaced the Medical sector's loss of 1.89% and the S&P 500's loss of 0.94% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Merck as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be February 2, 2023. In that report, analysts expect Merck to post earnings of $1.55 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 13.89%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $13.71 billion, up 1.36% from the year-ago period.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Merck should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.61% lower within the past month. Merck is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Merck has a Forward P/E ratio of 15.13 right now. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 14.54, so we one might conclude that Merck is trading at a premium comparatively.
Investors should also note that MRK has a PEG ratio of 1.39 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company's expected earnings growth rate into account. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.75 as of yesterday's close.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 84, which puts it in the top 34% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our 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.
To follow MRK in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.