Merck (MRK) Stock Moves -1.33%: What You Should Know

Merck (MRK) closed at $83.27 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.33% move from the prior day. This move was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.56%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 1.19%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 1.67%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the pharmaceutical company had gained 1.1% over the past month. This has outpaced the Medical sector's loss of 3.6% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.22% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from MRK as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be October 29, 2019. On that day, MRK is projected to report earnings of $1.25 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 5.04%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $11.73 billion, up 8.64% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.92 per share and revenue of $46.09 billion, which would represent changes of +13.36% and +8.97%, respectively, from the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for MRK. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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.

Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.11% higher. MRK is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Investors should also note MRK's current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 17.16. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 14.44.

Investors should also note that MRK has a PEG ratio of 1.71 right now. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. MRK's industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.11 as of yesterday's close.

The Large Cap Pharmaceuticals industry is part of the Medical sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 35, putting it in the top 14% 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.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.