#5 - Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK)
The pharmaceutical sector is a good place to look for recession-proof stocks. There are many solid choices, but Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) is one that rises to the top. For starters, the company has Keytruda which is the world’s best-selling drug, in terms of revenue. In Merck’s first quarter 2023 earnings report, Merck reported $5.3 billion in sales of Keytruda. And the company is expected to generate $23 billion from just Keytruda.
And whenever you look at a pharmaceutical company, you have to look at the company’s existing products and its pipeline. The Merck portfolio is broad on both scores. The company has over 100 drug candidates in Phase 2 or Phase 3 clinical trials. That means that the company will likely be bringing more drugs to market in coming years.
Of the stocks we’ve looked at so far, Merck can be considered properly valued with a price-to-earnings ratio around 22x. The company also has a dividend yield of 2.52% and has been increasing the dividend for 12 consecutive years.
About Merck & Co., Inc.
Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names.
Read More - Current Price
- $99.18
- Consensus Rating
- Moderate Buy
- Ratings Breakdown
- 12 Buy Ratings, 6 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $130.86 (31.9% Upside)
