Merck & CompanyMRKCOMMENTAug 03, 2016Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 09, 2026. Market Open.
Today's downward move isn't all that outsized. There's been more clarity on US drug pricing. Seeing a bit of market exhaustion, as US pharma is trading at huge premiums relative to their own history.
Rerating from pricing clarity has already been baked in. R&D pipeline in the sector is a mixed bag, doesn't trust it.
The difficulty that chemically based pharmaceuticals have had is basically with current legislation. They spend a lot of money developing drugs, and then they go off patent in a few years and they lose that revenue stream. If you look at the financials of all of the majors, basically it is a flat revenue picture, and any cash flow or earnings progress is made through cost cutting. He would prefer the bio side, such as Biogen (BIIB-Q), Celgene (CELG-Q), etc.