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Merck (MRK) Stock Moves -0.1%: What You Should Know

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Merck (MRK - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $89.91, moving -0.1% from the previous trading session. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's 1.64% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 1.05%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.41%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the pharmaceutical company had gained 2.26% over the past month. This has outpaced the Medical sector's gain of 0.06% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.73% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Merck as it approaches its next earnings release, which is expected to be July 28, 2022. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.69, up 29.01% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $13.85 billion, up 21.45% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $7.28 per share and revenue of $57.99 billion. These totals would mark changes of +20.93% and +15.62%, respectively, from last year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Merck. 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.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. 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, 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. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. Merck currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Investors should also note Merck's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 12.36. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 13.23, so we one might conclude that Merck is trading at a discount comparatively.

Investors should also note that MRK has a PEG ratio of 1.22 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. MRK's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.27 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 94, which puts it in the top 38% 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.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.


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