(Bloomberg) – Merck & Co. posted its best year-over-year gain in more than two decades, becoming the best-performing drugmaker in the S&P 500 in 2022 as investors reward the company for high earnings and experimental data. clinically positive.
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The stock is up 45% this year and is trading near record highs as blockbuster cancer drug maker Keytruda and HPV vaccine Gardasil get a boost from solid earnings results. of the company. Its Covid-19 treatment Lagevrio has brought in billions in sales, and China approved the antiviral for emergency use this week.
“Merck is really going strong over the course of 2022,” said Barclays analyst Carter Gould, who overvalues the stock, in an interview.
Merck has also benefited from positive clinical updates. Earlier this month, a trial showed that Keytruda with Moderna Inc’s cancer vaccine. reduced the number of deaths from melanoma, and in October a late-stage trial of sotatercept, an investigational therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension, reached its primary goal.
The stock’s surge this year has lifted it close to analysts’ 12-month average price target, based on Bloomberg data, making the potential for a clear return next year minimal. But some still see ahead. Earlier this week, Cantor Fitzgerald analysts named Merck a top pick for large-cap pharmaceutical stocks for 2023. Mizuho Securities also sees the stock as a preferred pick for next year.
“In our view, MRK is a compelling long-term growth story as it continues to expand the Keytruda franchise platform into additional and earlier indications,” Mizuho analysts wrote. in a note.
–With support from Jeremy R. Cooke.
(Updated stock prices move throughout.)
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