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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Merck, TotalEnergies and Union Pacific
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For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – March 19, 2026 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK - Free Report) , TotalEnergies SE (TTE - Free Report) and Union Pacific Corp. (UNP - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:
Top Analyst Reports for Merck, TotalEnergies and Union Pacific
The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Merck & Co., Inc., TotalEnergies SE and Union Pacific Corp.. These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
Merck's shares have outperformed the Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry over the past six months (+42.2% vs. +16.1%). The company's blockbuster drug, Keytruda, and new products have been driving sales. Animal Health is also contributing to growth. Though Keytruda will lose patent exclusivity in 2028, its sales are expected to remain strong until then.
Merck has been making meaningful pipeline progress and is actively pursuing M&A deals to enhance its pipeline and diversify away from Keytruda. However, it faces several near-term challenges, including declining sales of Gardasil, potential competition for Keytruda and rising competitive and generic pressure on some of its drugs.
However, Merck's new products and strong pipeline progress have increased confidence that Merck may be able to maintain growth even after Keytruda loses exclusivity.
Shares of TotalEnergies have outperformed the Zacks Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry over the past six months (+45.4% vs. +40.2%). The company's production is impacted by the Middle East crisis, but courtesy of its production outside the region, and higher oil prices, will offset the impact. TotalEnergies is gaining from contributions coming from startups, acquired assets, well-spread LNG assets and upstream assets located in the new hydrocarbon-producing regions.
Cost reduction initiatives will boost margins, and the company aims to generate 15-20% of sales from low-carbon business by 2040. TotalEnergies is investing in clean power generation and reducing emissions.
Yet, TotalEnergies operates multiple assets globally, and in some regions, production might be impacted due to security concerns. It remains exposed to acquisition-related risks as these assets contribute a sizable volume to production.
Union Pacific's shares have gained +9.3% over the past six months against the Zacks Transportation - Rail industry's gain of +11.1%. This company, which has inked a deal to buy Norfolk Southern, is suffering big time as e-commerce sales have normalized and consumer markets have softened. Geopolitical uncertainty and high inflation continue to hurt consumer sentiment. Reduced fuel surcharge revenues, too, are a concern.
Due to these headwinds, volumes are suffering. Operating ratio (operating expenses as a percentage of revenues) remains under pressure, mainly due to revenue woes. Given the soft freight market scenario, the revenue weakness is likely to persist. To combat the revenue weakness, UNP is looking to cut costs.
In the meantime, Union Pacific continues to pay dividends. UNP is also active on the buyback front. Considering all these factors, investors are advised to wait for a better entry point. Our thesis is supported by the Neutral recommendation on the stock.
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
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The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Merck, TotalEnergies and Union Pacific
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – March 19, 2026 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK - Free Report) , TotalEnergies SE (TTE - Free Report) and Union Pacific Corp. (UNP - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:
Top Analyst Reports for Merck, TotalEnergies and Union Pacific
The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Merck & Co., Inc., TotalEnergies SE and Union Pacific Corp.. These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
You can see all of today's research reports here >>>
Today's Featured Research Reports
Merck's shares have outperformed the Zacks Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry over the past six months (+42.2% vs. +16.1%). The company's blockbuster drug, Keytruda, and new products have been driving sales. Animal Health is also contributing to growth. Though Keytruda will lose patent exclusivity in 2028, its sales are expected to remain strong until then.
Merck has been making meaningful pipeline progress and is actively pursuing M&A deals to enhance its pipeline and diversify away from Keytruda. However, it faces several near-term challenges, including declining sales of Gardasil, potential competition for Keytruda and rising competitive and generic pressure on some of its drugs.
However, Merck's new products and strong pipeline progress have increased confidence that Merck may be able to maintain growth even after Keytruda loses exclusivity.
(You can read the full research report on Merck here >>>)
Shares of TotalEnergies have outperformed the Zacks Oil and Gas - Refining and Marketing industry over the past six months (+45.4% vs. +40.2%). The company's production is impacted by the Middle East crisis, but courtesy of its production outside the region, and higher oil prices, will offset the impact. TotalEnergies is gaining from contributions coming from startups, acquired assets, well-spread LNG assets and upstream assets located in the new hydrocarbon-producing regions.
Cost reduction initiatives will boost margins, and the company aims to generate 15-20% of sales from low-carbon business by 2040. TotalEnergies is investing in clean power generation and reducing emissions.
Yet, TotalEnergies operates multiple assets globally, and in some regions, production might be impacted due to security concerns. It remains exposed to acquisition-related risks as these assets contribute a sizable volume to production.
(You can read the full research report on TotalEnergies here >>>)
Union Pacific's shares have gained +9.3% over the past six months against the Zacks Transportation - Rail industry's gain of +11.1%. This company, which has inked a deal to buy Norfolk Southern, is suffering big time as e-commerce sales have normalized and consumer markets have softened. Geopolitical uncertainty and high inflation continue to hurt consumer sentiment. Reduced fuel surcharge revenues, too, are a concern.
Due to these headwinds, volumes are suffering. Operating ratio (operating expenses as a percentage of revenues) remains under pressure, mainly due to revenue woes. Given the soft freight market scenario, the revenue weakness is likely to persist. To combat the revenue weakness, UNP is looking to cut costs.
In the meantime, Union Pacific continues to pay dividends. UNP is also active on the buyback front. Considering all these factors, investors are advised to wait for a better entry point. Our thesis is supported by the Neutral recommendation on the stock.
(You can read the full research report on Union Pacific here >>>)
Why Haven't You Looked at Zacks' Top Stocks?
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can access their live picks without cost or obligation.
See Stocks Free >>
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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.