Merck Trips Up Over Mixed Earnings

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) reported its fourth-quarter financial results before the markets opened Wednesday. The company had $0.93 in earnings per share (EPS) on $10.21 billion in revenue, which compares to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates of $0.91 in EPS on revenue of $10.35 billion. In the same period of the previous year, the pharmaceutical giant posted EPS of $0.87 and $10.48 billion in revenue.

In the fourth quarter revenues decreased by 3% compared with last year, including a 7% negative impact from foreign exchange and a 3% net positive impact primarily from the acquisition of Cubist Pharmaceuticals.

During this quarter, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Zepatier (elbasvir and grazoprevir), a once-daily, fixed-dose combination tablet for the treatment of adult patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotypes 1 or 4 infection, with or without ribavirin. Zepatier was approved for use in a broad range of chronic HCV patients, including those with compensated cirrhosis, renal impairment of any degree and HIV-1/HCV co-infection.

Also in the fourth quarter, Merck significantly advanced its development program for Keytruda (pembrolizumab), an anti-PD-1 therapy for the treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in previously treated patients whose tumors express PD-L1, as well as advanced melanoma.
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In terms of the outlook for 2016, Merck expects EPS to be in the range of $3.60 to $3.75 and revenues between $38.7 billion and $40.2 billion. The consensus estimates call for $3.72 in EPS on $40.25 in revenue for the 2016 full year.

Kenneth C. Frazier, chairman and CEO of Merck, commented on earnings:

In 2016 we will build upon the strong foundation we established last year. We will continue to invest resources to launch and grow our strongest brands, support the most promising internal assets, enhance our pipeline with the best available external science and maintain a balanced and differentiated portfolio, with the goal of delivering long-term growth and shareholder value.

Shares of Merck closed Tuesday down 0.7% at $50.41, with a consensus analyst price target of $60.53 and a 52-week trading range of $45.69 to $61.70. Following the release of the earnings report, shares were down 2.2% at $49.30 in early trading indications.