Merck & Co., Inc. operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names. The Animal Health segment discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and health management solutions and services, as well as digitally connected identification, traceability, and monitoring products. The company serves drug wholesalers and retailers, hospitals, and government agencies; managed health care providers, such as health maintenance organizations, pharmacy benefit managers, and other institutions; and physicians, wholesalers, government entities, veterinarians, distributors, animal producers, farmers, and pet owners. It has development and commercialization agreement for three of Daiichi Sankyo's deruxtecan ADC candidates, which include patritumab deruxtecan, ifinatamab deruxtecan, and raludotatug deruxtecan for the treatment of multiple solid tumors both as monotherapy and/or in combination with other treatments; and AstraZeneca PLC to co-development and co-commercialize AstraZeneca's Lynparza products for multiple cancer types, and Koselugo for multiple indications. The company also has a collaboration agreement with Eisai Co., Ltd., Bayer AG, and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP, as well Moderna, Inc. Merck & Co., Inc. was founded in 1891 and is headquartered in Rahway, New Jersey.

Merck & Company, Inc.

Johnson & Johnson JNJ is one of the key pharmaceutical players in the oncology segment with significant expertise in blood cancers and solid tumors. It is the #1 company in multiple myeloma, with key drug Darzalex being considered the foundational gold standard treatment. Darzalex generated more than $14 billion in sales in 2025, rising 22% year over year and still going strong.
Its Oncology segment comprises around 27% of total revenues and 42% of its Innovative Medicine segment sales. Its oncology sales rose 20.9% on an operational basis in 2025, driven by strong market growth and share gains of key products such as Darzalex and prostate cancer drug, Erleada. The sales growth was partially dampened by lower sales of Imbruvica.
Three of J&J’s new cancer drugs are Carvykti, a BCMA CAR-T therapy for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, Tecvayli for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma and Talvey, a novel bispecific therapy for heavily pretreated multiple myeloma. These drugs also contributed to top-line growth in 2026. Combined, they generated $3.0 billion in sales in 2025.
J&J expects the momentum to continue and targets its oncology sales to reach $50 billion by 2030. Though quite bullish, J&J seems quite confident that it can meet the target, citing strong growth in its marketed cancer drugs and new launches like Inlexzoh/TAR-200 in high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer and the subcutaneous formulation of Rybrevant plus Lazcluze for advanced EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer.
Inlexzoh, which was initially approved in the United States in September last year, is the first-of-its-kind drug-releasing system to provide sustained local delivery of a cancer treatment directly into the bladder. The subcutaneous formulation of Rybrevant plus Lazcluze was approved in the EU in April 2025 and in the United States in December 2025.
J&J believes its new cancer drugs, Talvey, Tecvayli and Rybrevant plus Lazcluze, have the potential to deliver peak sales of $5 billion.
Meanwhile, J&J’s oncology pipeline has gained strong momentum in the last couple of years with promising developments in colorectal and head and neck cancers. J&J is also building its oncology pipeline through M&A deals. Last year, it acquired Halda Therapeutics, which added a promising clinical-stage treatment for prostate cancer with potential across multiple tumor types.
Competition in the Oncology Space
Other large players in the oncology space are Pfizer PFE, AstraZeneca AZN, Merck MRK and Bristol-Myers.
Oncology sales comprise around 27% of Pfizer’s total revenues. Its oncology revenues grew 8% in 2025, driven by drugs like Xtandi, Lorbrena, the Braftovi-Mektovi combination and Padcev, which made up for declining sales of drugs like Ibrance. Pfizer also has a robust pipeline of cancer candidates with a focus on multiple modalities, including small molecules, ADCs and immuno-oncology biologics.
For AstraZeneca, oncology sales now comprise around 44% of total revenues. Sales in its oncology segment rose 14% at constant exchange rate (CER) in 2025. AstraZeneca’s strong oncology performance was driven by medicines such as Tagrisso, Lynparza, Imfinzi, Calquence and Enhertu (in partnership with Daiichi Sankyo).
Merck’s key oncology medicines are PD-L1 inhibitor, Keytruda and PARP inhibitor, Lynparza, which it markets in partnership with AstraZeneca. Keytruda, approved for several types of cancer, alone accounts for more than 50% of Merck’s pharmaceutical sales. Keytruda recorded sales of $31.7 billion in 2025, up 7% year over year.
Bristol-Myers’ key cancer drug is PD-L1 inhibitor, Opdivo, which accounts for around 21% of its total revenues. Opdivo’s sales rose 8% to $10 billion in 2025.
JNJ’s Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
J&J’s shares have outperformed the industry in the past year. The stock has risen 51% in the past year compared with a 12.7% appreciation of the industry.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, J&J is slightly expensive. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 21.11 forward earnings, higher than 18.69 for the industry. The stock is also trading above its five-year mean of 15.65.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings has risen from $11.49 to $11.54 over the past 60 days, while that for 2027 has gone up from $12.24 per share to $12.40 per share over the same timeframe.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
J&J has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) currently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor Stock
This under-the-radar company specializes in semiconductor products that titans like NVIDIA don't build. It's uniquely positioned to take advantage of the next growth stage of this market. And it's just beginning to enter the spotlight, which is exactly where you want to be.
With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $971 billion by 2028.
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Can J&J Sustain Its Double-Digit Oncology Growth Streak?

(RTTNews) - Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK), Monday announced its plan to organize its Human Health business into an Oncology Business Unit and a Specialty, Pharma & Infectious Diseases Business Unit to ensure strong commercial execution of launches across diverse therapeutic areas.
Concurrently, Jannie Oosthuizen has been appointed as executive vice president and president, Oncology and MSD International. He most recently served as senior vice president and president, Merck Human Health U.S.
Also, Brian Foard will join the company as executive vice president and president, Specialty, Pharma & Infectious Diseases, effective March 2, 2026. He most recently served as executive vice president and head of Specialty Care Business Unit at Sanofi.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Merck Splits Human Health Division Into Two New Units For Strong Launch Execution

Key Points
The pharmaceutical giant is finding ways to navigate despite headwinds.
This has helped the shares outperform the market over the past year.
Income investors should be pleased with Merck's dividend program.
Over the past year, Merck's (NYSE: MRK) shares have climbed by 46%. That seems a bit surprising. Last year, the company's financial results were relatively weak as it faced declining revenue for one of its growth franchises, HPV vaccines Gardasil and Gardasil 9. The healthcare leader could also face increased competition for its most important product, cancer drug Keytruda.
Despite all that, Merck remains a top stock to buy and hold for a while, especially for income seekers. Here's more.
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The Keytruda franchise can still perform well
Keytruda is the world's best-selling cancer drug, and is approved across many different indications. But it will lose patent exclusivity by 2028. Meanwhile, several companies are developing products that could challenge Keytruda. That includes Summit Therapeutics' ivonescimab, a medicine that beat Keytruda in a head-to-head clinical trial in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and a PD-L1 protein overexpression.
Even with all that, Keytruda's empire, although weakened, should remain strong until the next decade. Merck has received approval for a subcutaneous formulation of the medicine, which has significant advantages. It is faster and easier to administer without sacrificing efficacy, making it much more convenient than the original version.
There will likely be "Keytruda killers" approved in the next few years, but this well-established franchise should benefit from a large number of indications and proven outcomes. Those will help it maintain solid market share in its most important niches, including NSCLC.
Beyond Keytruda
Merck has also diversified its lineup. Over the past few years, it has received approval for products such as Winrevair, a medicine for pulmonary arterial hypertension, and Capvaxive, a pneumonia vaccine. Both are generating solid sales (Winrevair's annual run rate is over $1 billion).
The pipeline has been expanded as well and now boasts promising candidates, including a product that could revolutionize the influenza vaccine market. This is what Merck has been doing for a long time: developing new products to overcome competition and patent cliffs while maintaining consistent revenue and earnings, even with occasional sales drops due to various issues. The healthcare giant looks well positioned to continue down that road.
The company's dividend looks secure. Merck's payouts have increased by 93.8% over the past decade, and its payout ratio of 45.1% suggests ample room for further dividend hikes. The stock currently offers a forward yield of 2.8%, which is well above the S&P 500's average of 1.2%.
So, even with the fast-approaching Keytruda patent cliff and other challenges -- including those related to its HPV vaccine business -- Merck remains an excellent buy-and-hold dividend stock.
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Prosper Junior Bakiny has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Merck and Summit Therapeutics. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Merck: This Cancer‑Drug Powerhouse Could Be a Core Dividend Holding for Decades

Key Points
Merck is one of the world's largest drug companies.
Although it isn't a player in the GLP-1 space, it has a well-supported dividend and a proven track record of dividend growth.
If you're at all interested in the pharmaceutical sector, you may be overwhelmed by the opportunity for GLP-1 weight-loss therapies. Sure, that's an important new drug category, but it isn't the only story in the drug space.
If you can look past what the lemming-like crowd is focused on, consider digging into Merck (NYSE: MRK). Here's why this reliable dividend stock could help to slowly make you a millionaire.
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Merck's dividend story is attractive
Merck's current dividend yield is 2.8%. That's well above the 1.1% yield of the S&P 500 index (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) and more than a full percentage point higher than the 1.7% yield of the average pharmaceutical stock. That's a huge difference: Merck's yield is more than 60% higher than the average drug stock.
Just having a large dividend yield shouldn't be enough to entice most dividend investors. But pair Merck's lofty yield with its history of steadily increasing its dividend over the past 35 years, and the story starts to get a lot more exciting.
That said, Merck hasn't increased its dividend every year; there have been periods when the dividend has been held steady. However, that's a positive, because it shows that management and the board of directors are willing to support the dividend through difficult times. It recognizes how important dividends are to investors.
The opportunity ahead
Over the past decade, Merck's dividend has nearly doubled. And the current payout ratio is a very reasonable 45%. More dividend growth seems highly likely in the future, with dividend reinvestment offering the opportunity for compounding over time. And when you retire, you can start using those dividends to pay your bills.
But the real story is the drugmaker's business. Merck has strong positions in cardiometabolic disease, cancer, and infection care. While some investors are worried about the 2028 U.S. patent expiration for oncology drug Keytruda, the drug has international patents that last into the 2030s. And Merck is working on a pill version that could extend patent protections even further. It has plenty of leeway to both support the dividend and invest in new innovations.
Out of the limelight and still attractive
Merck isn't exciting in the same way as GLP-1 leader Eli Lilly. But it presents an opportunity for investors who use dividends to steadily build wealth over time. Indeed, Merck is a well-run drugmaker that's quietly rewarding dividend investors for sticking around. If you're looking to build a seven-figure portfolio, you might want to join in.
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Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Merck. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Could Merck Stock Quietly Help Turn Steady Dividends Into a Millionaire Retirement?

Fintel reports that on February 20, 2026, Barclays initiated coverage of Merck (NYSE:MRK) with a Overweight recommendation.
Analyst Price Forecast Suggests 2.67% Downside
As of February 3, 2026, the average one-year price target for Merck is $118.61/share. The forecasts range from a low of $86.86 to a high of $141.75. The average price target represents a decrease of 2.67% from its latest reported closing price of $121.86 / share.
See our leaderboard of companies with the largest price target upside.
The projected annual revenue for Merck is 68,295MM, an increase of 5.05%. The projected annual non-GAAP EPS is 10.34.
What is the Fund Sentiment?
There are 4,681 funds or institutions reporting positions in Merck. This is an decrease of 172 owner(s) or 3.54% in the last quarter. Average portfolio weight of all funds dedicated to MRK is 0.49%, an increase of 1.13%. Total shares owned by institutions decreased in the last three months by 0.50% to 2,189,597K shares. The put/call ratio of MRK is 0.63, indicating a bullish outlook.
What are Other Shareholders Doing?
Wellington Management Group Llp holds 86,435K shares representing 3.48% ownership of the company. In its prior filing, the firm reported owning 75,279K shares , representing an increase of 12.91%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in MRK by 79.58% over the last quarter.
VTSMX - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares holds 80,752K shares representing 3.25% ownership of the company. In its prior filing, the firm reported owning 79,767K shares , representing an increase of 1.22%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in MRK by 20.35% over the last quarter.
VFINX - Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares holds 71,275K shares representing 2.87% ownership of the company. In its prior filing, the firm reported owning 70,289K shares , representing an increase of 1.38%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in MRK by 20.55% over the last quarter.
Geode Capital Management holds 60,048K shares representing 2.42% ownership of the company. In its prior filing, the firm reported owning 59,799K shares , representing an increase of 0.41%. The firm decreased its portfolio allocation in MRK by 35.03% over the last quarter.
Charles Schwab Investment Management holds 48,564K shares representing 1.96% ownership of the company. In its prior filing, the firm reported owning 53,699K shares , representing a decrease of 10.58%.
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This story originally appeared on Fintel.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Barclays Initiates Coverage of Merck (MRK) with Overweight Recommendation

Merck & Co. MRK and Bristol Myers Squibb BMY are major global drugmakers with expansive, diversified portfolios.
Merck stands out for its leadership in oncology, complemented by strong positions in infectious diseases and vaccines.
Bristol Myers, meanwhile, concentrates on developing breakthrough therapies across oncology, hematology, immunology, cardiovascular disease, neuroscience and beyond.
Both companies command significant presence in cancer treatment and maintain robust pipelines, making the choice between the two stocks a nuanced one. A closer look at their fundamentals, growth outlooks, risks and valuations is essential to determine the more compelling investment opportunity.
The Case for MRK
Merck boasts more than six blockbuster drugs in its portfolio. Among these, immuno-oncology drug Keytruda accounts for the lion’s share of its business (54% of total sales in 2025). The drug has played a pivotal role in driving top-line revenue growth over the past few years.
Growth engine Keytruda is approved for various oncology indications either as a monotherapy or in combination with other drugs. Sales are benefiting from the rapid uptake across earlier-stage indications. Continued strong momentum in metastatic indications is also boosting sales growth. Keytruda’s sales rose around 7% in 2025.
The FDA approved Keytruda Qlex (pembrolizumab and berahyaluronidase alfa-pmph injection) for subcutaneous administration in adults across most solid tumor indications for Keytruda in September 2025.
Merck is currently evaluating Keytruda across a wide variety of cancers and treatment settings and targets peak sales of $35 billion by 2028. However, Keytruda will lose patient exclusivity in 2028, adversely impacting the top line.
Merck’s other oncology drugs — Welireg, Lynparza (in partnership with AstraZeneca) and Lenvima — are also performing well and contributing to top-line growth.
The pulmonary arterial hypertension drug, Winrevair, witnessed a strong launch and should drive significant growth in the long term.
Meanwhile, Merck’s Animal Health business is a key contributor to its top-line growth, witnessing strong demand driven by the livestock portfolio.
Merck is also making efforts to strengthen its vaccine portfolio in the wake of declining Gardasil sales. Its new 21-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Capvaxive, has seen strong uptake.
The company has been striving to drive both organic and inorganic growth through mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Consequently, MRK’s phase III pipeline has almost tripled since 2021.
The company currently has approximately 80 ongoing late-stage studies. This has positioned Merck to launch around 20 drugs over the next few years, with many having blockbuster potential. The company now expects over $70 billion of potential non-risk-adjusted commercial opportunity for the current pipeline by the mid-2030s.
The recent acquisition of Cidara Therapeutics and Verona Pharma has expanded its respiratory and infectious disease portfolios.
However, MRK is seeing declining demand for its diabetes products (Januvia/Janumet) and the generic erosion of some drugs like Bridion and Dificid, and expects a headwind of approximately $2.5 billion from generic competition in 2026. The company also expects significantly lower sales of Lagevrio due to continued soft demand.
Declining sales of Gardasil, Merck’s second-largest product, pose another headwind, driven by weak demand in China and Japan.
The Case for BMY
BMY’s Growth Portfolio includes key brands, such as Opdivo, Opdivo Qvantig, Orencia, Yervoy, Reblozyl, Camzyos, Breyanzi, Opdualag, Zeposia, Abecma, Sotyktu, Krazati and Cobenfy.
The company’s strong oncology portfolio comprises blockbuster immuno-oncology drugs Opdivo, Opdivo Qvantig and Yervoy, among others.
Opdivo is approved for various oncology indications around the world, either as monotherapy or in combination with other drugs. Consistent label expansion of the drug has enabled it to maintain momentum.
The approval of Opdivo Qvantig (nivolumab and hyaluronidase-nvhy) for subcutaneous administration has further strengthened BMY’s IO franchise, with initial uptake proving robust across all approved tumor types in the United States.
Sales of its oncology drug, Opdualag, have also been robust, fueling the top line.
Reblozyl, the thalassemia drug co-developed with Merck, continues to be a major growth driver, with annualized sales now exceeding $2 billion.
Strong momentum in cardiovascular drug Camzyos has boosted the top line. Breyanzi sales have been strong as well.
While the newer drugs boost sales, generic competition for legacy drugs, which accounted for 45% of total revenues in 2025, is a significant headwind. Legacy Portfolio sales continue to decline due to the ongoing generic impact on Revlimid, Pomalyst, Sprycel and Abraxane. Management expects sales from the legacy segment to decline a further 12-16% in 2026, as reflected in the company’s annual revenue guidance of $46.0-$47.5 billion (down from $48.2 billion generated in 2025).
BMY also continues to pursue strategic acquisitions and collaborations to expand its pipeline. The recent acquisition of Orbital Therapeutics added OTX-201, Orbital’s lead preclinical RNA immunotherapy candidate currently in IND-enabling studies, to BMY’s pipeline.
The recent collaboration agreement with BioNTech has strengthened BMY’s pipeline. Both companies have entered into an agreement for the global co-development and co-commercialization of BioNTech’s investigational bispecific antibody pumitamig across numerous solid tumor types.
Like Merck, BMY has also undertaken a restructuring program to streamline its operating model in key areas, including R&D, manufacturing, commercial and other functions.
As a result of this program, BMY is transforming R&D operations to accelerate pipeline delivery, enhancing its commercial operating model and establishing a more responsive manufacturing network.
BMY is targeting $2 billion in annualized cost savings by the end of 2027. The company achieved approximately $1 billion in savings in 2025 and remains on track to realize the remaining savings through 2026-2027. As a result, operating expenses are expected to decline in 2026, supporting margin expansion.
However, Bristol Myers’ total debt-to-total capital was a whopping 70.9% as of Dec. 31, 2025.
How Do Estimates Compare for MRK & BMY?
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MRK’s 2026 sales implies a year-over-year increase of 2.59%, while that for earnings per share (EPS) suggests a decline of 38.75%. EPS estimates for 2026 have moved south in the past 60 days, while those for 2027 have moved north.
MRK’s Estimate Movement
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BMY’s 2026 sales implies a year-over-year decrease of 2.32% but the same for EPS suggests an increase of 0.33%. EPS estimates for both 2026 and 2027 have moved north in the past 60 days.
BMY’s Estimate Movement
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Price Performance & Valuation of MRK & BMY
From a price-performance perspective, MRK has outperformed the large-cap pharma industry in the past year, while BMY underperformed the same. Shares of MRK and BMY have gained 39% and 8.1%, respectively, compared with the industry’s 16.5% rise in the said period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, we use the P/E ratio of the large-cap pharma industry to compare these companies. Going by the same, MRK is slightly more expensive than BMY. MRK’s shares currently trade at 21X forward earnings, higher than 9.74X for BMY. The large-cap pharma industry currently trades at 18.74X forward earnings.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Both MRK and BMY have an attractive dividend yield. This is a strong positive for investors. However, BMY's dividend yield of 4.22% is higher than MRK’s 2.79%.
Which Stock Is a Better Option for Now?
Large-cap pharma and biotech companies are often viewed as relatively defensive plays within the healthcare sector.
While BMY currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), MRK carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell), tilting the near-term investment case in favor of BMY.
Merck is contending with multiple headwinds, including ongoing weakness for Gardasil in China, looming competitive pressures for Keytruda and increasing generic erosion across parts of its portfolio.
BMY’s efforts to revive the top line in the face of generic challenges for key drugs are commendable. Approval of new drugs and label expansion of key drugs should generate incremental revenues for the company.
Overall, BMY’s relatively attractive valuation and more favorable 2026 outlook position it as the more compelling investment choice versus MRK at present.
#1 Semiconductor Stock to Buy (Not NVDA)
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Merck vs. Bristol Myers: Which Pharma Stock Is a Better Pick in 2026?

Looking today at week-over-week shares outstanding changes among the universe of ETFs covered at ETF Channel, one standout is the ProShares Ultra S&P500 (Symbol: SSO) where we have detected an approximate $312.2 million dollar outflow -- that's a 4.2% decrease week over week (from 128,250,000 to 122,850,000). Among the largest underlying components of SSO, in trading today Home Depot Inc (Symbol: HD) is up about 1%, GE Aerospace (Symbol: GE) is up about 2.1%, and Merck & Co Inc (Symbol: MRK) is higher by about 0.1%. For a complete list of holdings, visit the SSO Holdings page » The chart below shows the one year price performance of SSO, versus its 200 day moving average:
Looking at the chart above, SSO's low point in its 52 week range is $30.42 per share, with $60.37 as the 52 week high point — that compares with a last trade of $58.36. Comparing the most recent share price to the 200 day moving average can also be a useful technical analysis technique -- learn more about the 200 day moving average ».
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) trade just like stocks, but instead of ''shares'' investors are actually buying and selling ''units''. These ''units'' can be traded back and forth just like stocks, but can also be created or destroyed to accommodate investor demand. Each week we monitor the week-over-week change in shares outstanding data, to keep a lookout for those ETFs experiencing notable inflows (many new units created) or outflows (many old units destroyed). Creation of new units will mean the underlying holdings of the ETF need to be purchased, while destruction of units involves selling underlying holdings, so large flows can also impact the individual components held within ETFs.
Also see:
Funds Holding SZC
DPG Insider Buying
Institutional Holders of TDCX
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

SSO, HD, GE, MRK: Large Outflows Detected at ETF

Investors in Merck & Co Inc (Symbol: MRK) saw new options begin trading today, for the October 16th expiration. One of the key inputs that goes into the price an option buyer is willing to pay, is the time value, so with 239 days until expiration the newly trading contracts represent a potential opportunity for sellers of puts or calls to achieve a higher premium than would be available for the contracts with a closer expiration. At Stock Options Channel, our YieldBoost formula has looked up and down the MRK options chain for the new October 16th contracts and identified one put and one call contract of particular interest.
The put contract at the $120.00 strike price has a current bid of $8.70. If an investor was to sell-to-open that put contract, they are committing to purchase the stock at $120.00, but will also collect the premium, putting the cost basis of the shares at $111.30 (before broker commissions). To an investor already interested in purchasing shares of MRK, that could represent an attractive alternative to paying $121.12/share today.
Because the $120.00 strike represents an approximate 1% discount to the current trading price of the stock (in other words it is out-of-the-money by that percentage), there is also the possibility that the put contract would expire worthless. The current analytical data (including greeks and implied greeks) suggest the current odds of that happening are 57%. Stock Options Channel will track those odds over time to see how they change, publishing a chart of those numbers on our website under the contract detail page for this contract. Should the contract expire worthless, the premium would represent a 7.25% return on the cash commitment, or 11.07% annualized — at Stock Options Channel we call this the YieldBoost.
Below is a chart showing the trailing twelve month trading history for Merck & Co Inc, and highlighting in green where the $120.00 strike is located relative to that history:
Turning to the calls side of the option chain, the call contract at the $125.00 strike price has a current bid of $8.15. If an investor was to purchase shares of MRK stock at the current price level of $121.12/share, and then sell-to-open that call contract as a "covered call," they are committing to sell the stock at $125.00. Considering the call seller will also collect the premium, that would drive a total return (excluding dividends, if any) of 9.93% if the stock gets called away at the October 16th expiration (before broker commissions). Of course, a lot of upside could potentially be left on the table if MRK shares really soar, which is why looking at the trailing twelve month trading history for Merck & Co Inc, as well as studying the business fundamentals becomes important. Below is a chart showing MRK's trailing twelve month trading history, with the $125.00 strike highlighted in red:
Considering the fact that the $125.00 strike represents an approximate 3% premium to the current trading price of the stock (in other words it is out-of-the-money by that percentage), there is also the possibility that the covered call contract would expire worthless, in which case the investor would keep both their shares of stock and the premium collected. The current analytical data (including greeks and implied greeks) suggest the current odds of that happening are 50%. On our website under the contract detail page for this contract, Stock Options Channel will track those odds over time to see how they change and publish a chart of those numbers (the trading history of the option contract will also be charted). Should the covered call contract expire worthless, the premium would represent a 6.73% boost of extra return to the investor, or 10.28% annualized, which we refer to as the YieldBoost.
The implied volatility in the put contract example is 30%, while the implied volatility in the call contract example is 29%.
Meanwhile, we calculate the actual trailing twelve month volatility (considering the last 251 trading day closing values as well as today's price of $121.12) to be 29%. For more put and call options contract ideas worth looking at, visit StockOptionsChannel.com.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

October 16th Options Now Available For Merck (MRK)

Merck MRK announced better-than-expected fourth-quarter 2025 results earlier this month. The company beat estimates for both earnings and sales. Importantly, on the fourth-quarter conference call, management provided an encouraging long-term growth outlook, which has likely raised investor optimism.
Merck is approaching a significant patent cliff as its blockbuster PD-1 therapy Keytruda is set to lose exclusivity in 2028. While this poses a major revenue risk, the company projects more than $70 billion in potential non-risk-adjusted commercial opportunities from its current pipeline by the mid-2030s. Importantly, management noted that this figure ($70 billion) is more than twice the prior peak consensus sales estimate of $35 billion for Keytruda in 2028 and represents a $20 billion increase from what the company had expected just a year ago.
Building on this optimism, Merck is pinning hopes on its new products, key pipeline progress and the expansion of the commercial portfolios through recent mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to deliver sustainable growth in the post Keytruda LOE period.
Merck’s new products with blockbuster potential are its 21-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Capvaxive, and pulmonary arterial hypertension drug, Winrevair. Capvaxive and Winrevair recorded sales worth $759 million and $1.4 billion, respectively, in 2025. Both products have witnessed a strong launch and have the potential to generate significant revenues over the long term.
Another new product, Welireg, a novel HIF-2α inhibitor, which is approved for treating various types of cancer indications, generated sales worth $716 million in 2025.
Merck is also focused on building a diversified pipeline to support long-term growth. The company’s phase III pipeline has almost tripled since 2021, supported by in-house pipeline progress as well as the addition of candidates through M&A deals. Merck is seeing a strong launch for Ohtuvayre, a first-in-class maintenance therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with multibillion-dollar commercial potential. Added to the portfolio through the 2025 acquisition of Verona, the drug generated $178 million in fourth-quarter 2025 sales. The company is continuing to invest in the U.S. launch of Ohtuvayre, which should expand patient reach and support growth in 2026 and beyond.
Merck recently acquired Cidara Therapeutics, which added the latter’s lead pipeline candidate, MK-1406 (formerly CD388), a first-in-class, long-acting, strain-agnostic antiviral agent, to its pipeline. The candidate is currently being evaluated in late-stage studies for the prevention of seasonal influenza in individuals at higher risk of complications.
The new products and expansion of its respiratory and infectious disease portfolios with the recent M&A deals have improved Merck’s long-term growth prospects.
With a diverse late-stage pipeline and projected over $70 billion in commercial opportunities beyond Keytruda, Merck’s long-term growth outlook can now be seen as more resilient and less dependent on a single drug like Keytruda.
PD-L1 Inhibitors Competing With MRK's Keytruda
Keytruda faces competition from other PD-L1 inhibitors, including Bristol Myers’ BMY Opdivo, Roche’s RHHBY Tecentriq and AstraZeneca’s AZN Imfinzi.
BMY’s Opdivo, like Keytruda, is approved across multiple cancer types, including lung, melanoma and kidney cancers. Bristol Myers recorded $10.05 billion in Opdivo sales in 2025, up 8% year over year.
Tecentriq is Roche’s leading immuno-oncology drug approved for multiple cancer indications. RHHBY recorded CHF 3.56 billion in Tecentriq sales in 2025, increasing 3% year over year.
AZN’s Imfinzi generated sales of $6.06 billion in 2025, up 28%, driven by demand growth in bladder and liver cancer indications. Imfinzi has strategically expanded its use across multiple cancer indications, strengthening AstraZeneca’s oncology portfolio.
MRK's Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates
Over the past six months, shares of Merck have rallied 44.1% compared with the industry’s 28.4% rise. The stock has also outperformed the sector and the S&P 500 during the same time frame, as seen in the chart below.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, Merck appears attractive relative to the industry. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 18.77 forward earnings, lower than 18.83 for the industry but higher than its 5-year mean of 12.51.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 earnings per share has declined from $8.11 to $5.96, while the same for 2027 has declined from $10.02 to $9.98 over the past 30 days.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
MRK's Zacks Rank
Merck currently has a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.

Merck Indicates Better Growth Visibility in Post-Keytruda LOE Period

At Holdings Channel, we have reviewed the latest batch of the 108 most recent 13F filings for the 12/31/2025 reporting period, and noticed that Merck & Co Inc (Symbol: MRK) was held by 34 of these funds. When hedge fund managers appear to be thinking alike, we find it is a good idea to take a closer look.
Before we proceed, it is important to point out that 13F filings do not tell the whole story, because these funds are only required to disclose their long positions with the SEC, but are not required to disclose their short positions. A fund making a bearish bet against a stock by shorting calls, for example, might also be long some amount of stock as they trade around their overall bearish position. This long component could show up in a 13F filing and everyone might assume the fund is bullish, but this tells only part of the story because the bearish/short side of the position is not seen.
Having given that caveat, we believe that looking at groups of 13F filings can be revealing, especially when comparing one holding period to another. Below, let's take a look at the change in MRK positions, for this latest batch of 13F filers:
In terms of shares owned, we count 11 of the above funds having increased existing MRK positions from 09/30/2025 to 12/31/2025, with 15 having decreased their positions and 5 new positions. Worth noting is that DLD Asset Management LP, included in this recent batch of 13F filers, exited MRK common stock as of 12/31/2025.
Looking beyond these particular funds in this one batch of most recent filers, we tallied up the MRK share count in the aggregate among all of the funds which held MRK at the 12/31/2025 reporting period (out of the 5,818 we looked at in total). We then compared that number to the sum total of MRK shares those same funds held back at the 09/30/2025 period, to see how the aggregate share count held by hedge funds has moved for MRK. We found that between these two periods, funds increased their holdings by 31,875,327 shares in the aggregate, from 1,113,775,612 up to 1,145,650,939 for a share count increase of approximately 2.86%. The overall top three funds holding MRK on 12/31/2025 were:
We'll keep following the latest 13F filings by hedge fund managers and bring you interesting stories derived from a look at the aggregate information across groups of managers between filing periods. While looking at individual 13F filings can sometimes be misleading due to the long-only nature of the information, the sum total across groups of funds from one reporting period to another can be a lot more revealing and relevant, providing interesting stock ideas that merit further research, like Merck & Co Inc (Symbol: MRK).
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.