Merck & Company (MRK) Buy, Sell or Hold

Merck & Company (MRK)

143.93

-0.78 (0.54%)

as of Sep 11, 2026, 8:00:00 pm Market Open.

311 watching

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Sept 13/06. Up 7.3%.) Pharmaceutical stocks fit in the theme of large cap capital growth. Expect this to be a good stock this year without a lot of risk.

TOP PICK

The company went through a lot of bad news over the last four months but in the last 3 quarters there has been a re-acceleration in their growth rate. Trades at a very reasonable multiple.

WEAK BUY

Likes the sector. The names have been incredibly punished in the last few years. They still look cheap. This one had additional problems with Viox, but is recovering nicely. Wouldn't be his first pick.

BUY

All the major drug stocks are starting to act better. In this type of market, money moves from risky stocks to defensive stocks. A good place to be.

BUY

Great dividend yield. Probably one of the worst performing sectors in the S&P. Lots of cost cutting opportunities. Trading at around 8/9 X earnings. Pristine balance sheet.

DON'T BUY

Prefers Pfizer which has been doing more things correctly.

HOLD

This is a sector that he has avoided as they have had three years of poor experience. In the last 3/4 months, pharmaceuticals have started to wake up. This will not be the fastest growing area and this one will plod along.

BUY

Big pharmas have had a really tough go. He can now see them coming back. A good selection for a conservative, patient investor.

DON'T BUY

Has a lot of lawsuits overhanging it. Would not own it at this point.

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Aug 29/05. Up 14%.) Loves this name. An absolute steal. Facing class action lawsuits. This is what a value manager wants. A great company with a ton of free cash flow, strong dividend, pristine balance sheet and everybody hates.

DON'T BUY

Too early, particularly if the US has a recession. If we get into a recession, it will be a consumer led recession, there’s going to be humongous pressures by consumers and seniors on drugs for some of the egregious profits they have been making.

DON'T BUY

Drug stars such as Pfizer (PFE-N) Merck (MRK-N), etc. are attractively valued but are clearly out of favour. They have great long term track records and are in strong financial positions, however, there is a lack of predictability regarding the science. Doesn't like the cash flow dynamics where they spend billions up front with no sure win ahead. Litigation risks.

BUY

Pays a 5.5% dividend. If you have good fundamentals plus a dividend yield, you should do OK.

DON'T BUY

Has a pretty decent pipeline of new products. Current dividend yield is very high. You have to be prepared to ride out the storm of litigations, but could come out nicely. Very risky.

TOP PICK

Up to their necks in litigation. They've lost $30 billion in market cap because an anti-inflammatory has been pulled off the shelf due to heart attack risks. Just lost a $230 million lawsuit which will be reversed on appeal. Only trading at 9 X earnings. Have a ton of cash and generate a ton of free cash flow. 5.5% dividend yield. Very cheap.

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Merck & Company (MRK)