Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) is expected to report its third-quarter financial results before the markets open on Tuesday. Thomson Reuters consensus estimates call for $0.92 in earnings per share (EPS) on $10.08 billion in revenue. In the same period of the previous year, the pharmaceutical giant posted EPS of $0.90 and $10.56 billion in revenue.
This remains a leading health care stock on the focus lists of many Wall Street firms. Merck sells numerous prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and consumer care and animal health products to customers in more than 140 countries. Merck is the world’s fourth-biggest drugmaker by revenue. It boosted its annual profit forecast earlier this year.
The pharmaceutical giant recently announced very encouraging data from two pivotal Phase 3 clinical studies for its investigational antitoxin bezlotoxumab for prevention of recurrence of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection. Data from the Phase 3 studies evaluated the use of bezlotoxumab alone or in combination with actoxumab. Both the studies met their primary efficacy endpoint.
Earlier this month, the FDA granted breakthrough therapy designation to Merck’s Keytruda, as the company managed to prove that the drug is better than existing therapies for treating non-small cell lung cancer. However, the relationship between Keytruda use and survival rate or disease symptoms is yet to be conclusively proved.
Ahead of the earnings report a few analysts weighed in on Merck:
- Sanford Bernstein lowered its price target to $64 from $69.
- Deutsche Bank reiterated a Hold rating.
- BMO Capital Markets reiterated a Buy rating.
- JPMorgan reiterated an Overweight rating but lowered its price target to $65 from $68.
So far in 2015, Merck has underperformed the market, with the stock down 4.6% year to date. Over the past 52 weeks, the stock is down only 3.6%.
Shares of Merck were last seen trading at $53.00 Monday, with a consensus analyst price target of $62.47 and a 52-week trading range of $45.69 to $63.62.
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