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The latest trading session saw Merck (MRK - Free Report) ending at $104.01, denoting a +0.41% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.5% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.12%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 1.23%.
Coming into today, shares of the pharmaceutical company had lost 4.3% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 4.84%, while the S&P 500 lost 2.4%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Merck in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on October 26, 2023. In that report, analysts expect Merck to post earnings of $1.95 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 5.41%. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $15.35 billion, indicating a 2.6% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.03 per share and revenue of $59.56 billion, which would represent changes of -59.49% and +0.47%, respectively, from the prior year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Merck. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable 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, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. As of now, Merck holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Merck is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 34.18. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 14.29, which means Merck is trading at a premium to the group.
Investors should also note that MRK has a PEG ratio of 4.09 right now. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.82 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 239, putting it in the bottom 6% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these 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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Why the Market Dipped But (MRK) Gained Today
The latest trading session saw Merck (MRK - Free Report) ending at $104.01, denoting a +0.41% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.5% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.12%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 1.23%.
Coming into today, shares of the pharmaceutical company had lost 4.3% in the past month. In that same time, the Medical sector lost 4.84%, while the S&P 500 lost 2.4%.
The investment community will be paying close attention to the earnings performance of Merck in its upcoming release. The company is slated to reveal its earnings on October 26, 2023. In that report, analysts expect Merck to post earnings of $1.95 per share. This would mark year-over-year growth of 5.41%. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $15.35 billion, indicating a 2.6% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $3.03 per share and revenue of $59.56 billion, which would represent changes of -59.49% and +0.47%, respectively, from the prior year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Merck. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable 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, there's been no change in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. As of now, Merck holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Merck is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 34.18. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 14.29, which means Merck is trading at a premium to the group.
Investors should also note that MRK has a PEG ratio of 4.09 right now. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.82 as trading concluded yesterday.
The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 239, putting it in the bottom 6% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these 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.