MRK vs. AMGN, CORT, GILD, MRNA, VRTX, ABBV, BMY, JNJ, LLY, and PFE
Should you be buying Merck & Co., Inc. stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Merck & Co., Inc. include Amgen (AMGN), Corcept Therapeutics (CORT), Gilead Sciences (GILD), Moderna (MRNA), Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX), AbbVie (ABBV), Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Eli Lilly and Company (LLY), and Pfizer (PFE). These companies are all part of the "medical" sector.
Merck & Co., Inc. vs. Its Competitors
Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability and media sentiment.
Merck & Co., Inc. has higher revenue and earnings than Amgen. Merck & Co., Inc. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Amgen, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
In the previous week, Merck & Co., Inc. had 48 more articles in the media than Amgen. MarketBeat recorded 102 mentions for Merck & Co., Inc. and 54 mentions for Amgen. Amgen's average media sentiment score of 1.35 beat Merck & Co., Inc.'s score of 1.17 indicating that Amgen is being referred to more favorably in the media.
Amgen currently has a consensus target price of $307.27, suggesting a potential upside of 3.50%. Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus target price of $107.44, suggesting a potential upside of 35.53%. Given Merck & Co., Inc.'s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Merck & Co., Inc. is more favorable than Amgen.
76.5% of Amgen shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.1% of Merck & Co., Inc. shares are held by institutional investors. 0.8% of Amgen shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Merck & Co., Inc. shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Merck & Co., Inc. has a net margin of 25.79% compared to Amgen's net margin of 17.39%. Amgen's return on equity of 176.11% beat Merck & Co., Inc.'s return on equity.
Amgen pays an annual dividend of $9.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Merck & Co., Inc. pays an annual dividend of $3.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Amgen pays out 86.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Merck & Co., Inc. pays out 49.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Amgen has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Merck & Co., Inc. has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Merck & Co., Inc. is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.
Amgen has a beta of 0.49, indicating that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Merck & Co., Inc. has a beta of 0.38, indicating that its stock price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Amgen and Merck & Co., Inc. tied by winning 9 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.
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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time
This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding MRK and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
Media Sentiment Over Time
This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
Merck & Co., Inc. Competitors List
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This page (NYSE:MRK) was last updated on 8/2/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff
