Stock Price & Analysis

Based on the provided data, I'll analyze whether to buy or sell MRK stock with a focus on recent market performance and key developments.

MRK stock has shown weakness recently, declining from $100.98 to $95.55, with technical indicators suggesting bearish momentum as the RSI-14 is at 37.96, indicating the stock is approaching oversold territory but not yet at extreme levels.

Recent analyst actions have been mixed to negative, with multiple downgrades and price target reductions in January 2025. Morgan Stanley lowered their target to $113 from $123, Leerink Partners cut to $119 from $136, and Truist Securities downgraded from Strong Buy to Hold with a $110 target.

The pharmaceutical sector faces both opportunities and challenges in 2025. While there's optimism about potential reforms targeting pharmacy benefit managers under the Trump administration, there are also concerns about healthcare policies, particularly regarding vaccination rates.

Based on current technical and fundamental factors, sell MRK stock as it shows continued weakness and faces near-term headwinds from analyst downgrades and sector uncertainty.

Based on the provided data and recent market analysis, here is the price prediction for MRK stock in 2025:

Merck's stock price is projected to reach $130 by the end of 2025, representing a 30% upside from its current price of $95.62. This forecast is supported by continued strong performance of Keytruda sales and potential approval of clesrovimab for RSV treatment which could generate $4 billion in peak annual sales.

The company's Q4 2024 earnings report due on February 4, 2025 is expected to show EPS of $1.76, marking a significant increase from the previous year, while analysts project full-year 2025 EPS to grow 22.6% year-over-year to $9.44.

Technical analysis shows strong support at $94.38 and resistance at $100.72, with RSI at 37.96 indicating oversold conditions, suggesting potential upward momentum from current levels.

The S1 support level for MRK Stock is $95.88 ,The R1 resistant level for MRK Stock is $100.72.

As of the end of day on 2025-01-24, the price of MRK Stock was $95.61.

The target price for MRK Stock according to analyst rating is 124.54, with the highest price target at 150.00 and the lowest at 105.00. Analysts have a Moderate Buy rating on MRK Stock overall.

The market cap of MRK is $241.7B.

Based on the provided data and recent market analysis, here's a concise evaluation of MRK's valuation:

MRK is currently fairly valued, trending toward undervalued. The stock's forward P/E of 10.37 trades at a significant discount to its industry average of 12.73. The company's PEG ratio of 1.15 also indicates reasonable valuation relative to growth expectations.

Recent analyst actions show mixed sentiment but lean positive, with Morgan Stanley maintaining a Hold rating while lowering price target to $113, citing vibostolimab program discontinuation as a key factor. The consensus price target suggests approximately 17-20% upside potential from current levels.

The company's strong fundamentals support this assessment - Keytruda continues showing robust growth with sales up 17% YOY, while maintaining healthy margins and return metrics (ROE averaging 28.3%, net margin 18.8%).

The stock has pulled back about 5% over the past month, creating an attractive entry point given its solid growth outlook (projected 9% annual EPS growth over next 3 years) and above-average dividend yield of 3.2%.

Merck & Co., Inc. is a global health care company. It offers health solutions through its prescription medicines, including biologic therapies, vaccines and animal health products. The Company’s Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceuticals and vaccine products. Human health pharmaceutical products consist of therapeutic and preventive agents, generally sold by prescription, for the treatment of human disorders. It sells these human health pharmaceutical products to drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, government agencies and managed health care providers. Its Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures and markets a range of veterinary pharmaceutical and vaccine products, and health management solutions and services, for the prevention, treatment and control of disease in all livestock and companion animal species. The Company’s lead candidate, MK-6070, is a T-cell engager targeting delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3), an inhibitory canonical Notch ligand.

Based on the provided data and market analysis, here is the price prediction for MRK stock by 2030:

Merck's stock price is projected to reach $175-185 by 2030, driven by its strong oncology portfolio led by Keytruda and promising pipeline of 26 phase III trials. The company's strategic acquisitions and collaborations, particularly in HIV treatment development with Gilead Sciences, could generate over $5 billion in additional revenue. The pharmaceutical industry's optimistic outlook under potential policy changes and focus on chronic disease management further supports this bullish projection.

MRK has a total of 72000 employees.