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Merck (MRK) Dips More Than Broader Market: What You Should Know

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Merck (MRK - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $110.18, demonstrating a -1.7% swing from the preceding day's closing price. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.17% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.44%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.04%.

Shares of the pharmaceutical company witnessed a loss of 3.21% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Medical sector with its loss of 3.8% and underperforming the S&P 500's gain of 1.25%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Merck in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on October 31, 2024. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $1.77, marking a 16.9% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $16.48 billion, indicating a 3.24% upward movement from the same quarter last year.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $8.01 per share and a revenue of $64.14 billion, indicating changes of +430.46% and +6.69%, respectively, from the former year.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts 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.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed an unchanged state. Merck is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.

In terms of valuation, Merck is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 13.99. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 15.69.

We can additionally observe that MRK currently boasts a PEG ratio of 1.55. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.65 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 32, placing it within the top 13% of over 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.

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


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