#6 - Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK)
Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK) - There are a few certainties in our society: death, taxes, and prescription drugs. OK, maybe that last one isn’t such a certainty, but it’s a market that continues to grow. Whether the economy is expanding or contracting, consumers will still budget for their prescriptions. Merck delivers on two of the important characteristics you should be looking for in a prescription stock. First, it has patent-protected products that are showing exceptional growth. The company’s Keytruda cancer treatment is showing rapid growth for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The drug recorded a year-over-year doubling in sales in the second quarter. Second, they have a pipeline of new products in place when Keytruda loses its patent protection including a flagship Alzheimer’s drug that analysts are projecting could reach $5 billion in sales per year. In their most recent earnings report, Merck beat analysts’ expectations on sales that were up 5% to $10.5 billion and adjusted income that also grew 5% to $1.06 per share.
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
- $99.17
- Consensus Rating
- Moderate Buy
- Ratings Breakdown
- 12 Buy Ratings, 6 Hold Ratings, 1 Sell Ratings.
- Consensus Price Target
- $130.86 (32.0% Upside)
