MRK News & Events

The major averages closed in a mixed fashion for the day as traders reacted to a full slate of earnings releases as well as the January consumer price index release. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that CPI for last month rose 0.2%, reflecting a gain of 2.4% on an annualized basis. Both inflation figures were lower than consensus estimates of 0.3% and 2.5%, respectively. Despite the positive finish, the Dow, S&P and Nasdaq still had weekly losses of 1% to 2% as investors continued a rotation out of technology and other risk-sensitive sectors amid worries about AI.Looking to commodities, gold traded higher once again, surpassing the $5,000 threshold as precious metals continue to show signs of strength as a defensive hedge. Oil, meanwhile, was fractionally higher to cap off a strong week for the commodity.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:Pinterestreportedand provided a lower-than-expected outlook for Q1Airbnbreportedbut better-than-expected revenueDraftKingsreportedand provided downbeat FY26 revenue guidanceCoinbasereportedAlibabawill be added to a U.S. list of firms aiding China's military,2. WALL STREET CALLS:Pinterestwasto Neutral or equivalent ratings by at least 8 firms after earningsRokuto Buy at RosenblattAirbnbto Outperform at Evercore ISI and to Buy at Deutsche BankNorwegian Cruise Lineto Neutral at JPMorganMerckto Buy at Deutsche Bank3. AROUND THE WEB:Zillowis betting on AI as Google'sreal estate tests spark buyout chatter, Wired reportsSpaceX is weighing dual-class IPO shares to "empower" founder Elon Musk, Bloomberg saysRussia has blocked WhatsApp, citing Meta's"unwillingness to comply with Russian law," and is proposing that Russians switch to the state-owned Max app, Reuters reportsAmazonis directing internal teams to use its in-house AI coding assistant, Kiro, for production work, a move that has drawn criticism from roughly 1,500 employees advocating for the use of Anthropic's Claude Code instead, Business Insider saysMicrosoftis planning to pursue "true self-sufficiency" in the AI space by building its own models and reducing reliance on OpenAI, FT says4. MOVERS:TRI Pointeincreases after announcing it will befor $47.00 per share in cashCorsair Gaminggains after, providing guidance for Q1 and FY26, and announcing its Board authorizes the repurchase of up to $50M sharesRivianand Magnahigher in New York afterBright Horizonsfalls afterand providing guidance for FY26Disc Medicine (IRON) drops after confirming receipt of afor bitopertin5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:Moderna, with EPS and revenue beating consensusInstacart, with the company commenting, "In Q4, we delivered our strongest quarterly GTV growth in three years"Wendy'sand provided guidance for Fy256Wynn Resorts, with EPS missing consensusDauch Corporationand provided guidance for FY26INDEXES:The Dow rose 48.95, or 0.099%, to 49,500.93, the Nasdaq lost 50.48, or 0.22%, to 22,546.67, and the S&P 500 advanced 3.41, or 0.05%, to 6,836.17.

The major averages were higher near noon as traders digest a slate of earnings releases as well as the January consumer price index release. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said that CPI for last month rose 0.2%, reflecting a gain of 2.4% on an annualized basis. Both inflation figures were lower than consensus estimates of 0.3% and 2.5%, respectively.Looking to commodities, gold was trading higher once again, surpassing the $5,000 threshold as precious metals continue to show signs of strength as a defensive hedge. Oil, meanwhile, was fractionally lower to cap off an otherwise strong week for the commodity.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:Pinterestreportedand provided a lower-than-expected outlook for Q1Airbnbreportedbut better-than-expected revenueDraftKingsreportedand provided downbeat FY26 revenue guidanceCoinbasereportedAlibabawill be added to a U.S. list of firms aiding China's military,2. WALL STREET CALLS:Pinterestwasto Neutral or equivalent ratings by at least 8 firms after earningsRokuto Buy at RosenblattAirbnbto Outperform at Evercore ISI and to Buy at Deutsche BankNorwegian Cruise Lineto Neutral at JPMorganMerckto Buy at Deutsche Bank3. AROUND THE WEB:GE Aerospaceis making a switch to robots to ease one of aviation's biggest bottlenecks: overloaded repair shops and scarce parts, Reuters reportsRussia has blocked WhatsApp, citing Meta's"unwillingness to comply with Russian law," and is proposing that Russians switch to the state-owned Max app, Reuters reportsAmazonis directing internal teams to use its in-house AI coding assistant, Kiro, for production work, a move that has drawn criticism from roughly 1,500 employees advocating for the use of Anthropic's Claude Code instead, Business Insider saysU.S. prosecutors confirmed that Peter Williams, former head of L3Harris'Trenchant, pleaded guilty to stealing and selling eight sophisticated hacking tools, earning over $1.3M in cryptocurrency between 2022 and 2025, TechCrunch reportsMicrosoftis planning to pursue "true self-sufficiency" in the AI space by building its own models and reducing reliance on OpenAI, FT says4. MOVERS:TRI Pointeincreases after announcing it will befor $47.00 per share in cashCorsair Gaminggains after, providing guidance for Q1 and FY26, and announcing its Board authorizes the repurchase of up to $50M sharesRivianand Magnahigher in New York afterBright Horizonsfalls afterand providing guidance for FY26Fortune Brandslower afterand appointing Banati as CEO5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCEModerna, with EPS and revenue beating consensusInstacart, with the company commenting, "In Q4, we delivered our strongest quarterly GTV growth in three years"Wendy'sand provided guidance for Fy256Wynn Resorts, with EPS missing consensusDauch Corporationand provided guidance for FY26INDEXES:Near midday, the Dow was up 0.43%, or 210.88, to 49,662.86, the Nasdaq was up 0.31%, or 69.77, to 22,666.91, and the S&P 500 was up 0.54%, or 37.18, to 6,869.94.

Merck announced the FDA approved KEYTRUDA, or pembrolizumab, and KEYTRUDA QLEX, or pembrolizumab and berahyaluronidase alfa-pmph, plus paclitaxel, with or without bevacizumab, for the treatment of adults with PD-L1+, as determined by an FDA-authorized test, platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal carcinoma, who have received one or two prior systemic treatment regimens. These approvals are based on data from the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-B96 trial, which were presented at the 2025 European Society for Medical Oncology, or ESMO, Congress. Results from the trial showed that KEYTRUDA plus paclitaxel, with or without bevacizumab, demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival, or PFS, reducing the risk of disease progression or death by 28% in patients with platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer whose tumors express PD-L1 when compared to placebo plus paclitaxel with or without bevacizumab. In this same population, the KEYTRUDA regimen also demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in overall survival, or OS, reducing the risk of death by 24% compared to placebo plus paclitaxel with or without bevacizumab. The effectiveness of KEYTRUDA QLEX for its approved indications has been established based upon evidence from the adequate and well-controlled studies conducted with KEYTRUDA and additional data from MK-3475A-D77 comparing the pharmacokinetic, efficacy, and safety profiles of KEYTRUDA QLEX and KEYTRUDA. In patients whose tumors express PD-L1 the median PFS was 8.3 months for those receiving KEYTRUDA plus paclitaxel, with or without bevacizumab, versus 7.2 months for those receiving placebo plus paclitaxel with or without bevacizumab. The median OS for these patients receiving the KEYTRUDA regimen was 18.2 months versus 14.0 months for those receiving the placebo regimen. Of the 643 enrolled patients, 72% of patients had tumors expressing PD-L1 73% received bevacizumab in the study, and 46% received prior bevacizumab. A total of 47% had a platinum-free interval of less than 3 months. Patients were enrolled regardless of PD-L1 tumor expression status. The safety of KEYTRUDA in combination with paclitaxel with or without bevacizumab was evaluated in 463 patients with epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal carcinoma whose tumors express PD-L1 enrolled in KEYNOTE-B96. The median duration of exposure to KEYTRUDA was 7.4 months. Serious adverse reactions occurred in 54% of patients receiving KEYTRUDA and paclitaxel with or without bevacizumab. Serious adverse reactions in greater than or equal to2% of patients were pneumonia, urinary tract infection, adrenal insufficiency, hyponatremia, COVID-19, decreased neutrophil count, pulmonary embolism, abdominal pain, anemia, colitis, diarrhea, febrile neutropenia, pyrexia and vomiting. Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 3.9% of patients receiving KEYTRUDA and paclitaxel with or without bevacizumab, including assisted suicide, death, intestinal perforation, sepsis, COVID-19, cardio-respiratory arrest, colitis, and embolic stroke.