Merck & Co., Inc. NYSE: MRK p. farmaceutyczny

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Merck USA in advanced talks to buy Seagen in nearly $40-billion deal - WSJ

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-ma ... sj-2844708

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Merck (NYSE:MRK) stock fell 0.7% after the drugmaker's cancer therapy Keytruda failed to meet the main goal of a late-stage trial testing it in patients with head and neck cancer.

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Investing.com - Merck&Co reported on Thursday second quarter earnings that beat analysts' forecasts and revenue that topped expectations.

Merck&Co announced earnings per share of $1.87 on revenue of $14.59B. Analysts polled by Investing.com anticipated EPS of $1.68 on revenue of $13.83B.

Merck&Co shares are up 19% from the beginning of the year, still down 4.69% from its 52 week high of $95.72 set on June 27. They are outperforming the S&P 500 which is down 15.58% from the start of the year.

Merck&Co follows other major Healthcare sector earnings this month
Merck&Co's report follows an earnings beat by UnitedHealth on July 15, who reported EPS of $5.57 on revenue of $80.33B, compared to forecasts EPS of $5.21 on revenue of $79.68B.

J&J had beat expectations on July 19 with second quarter EPS of $2.59 on revenue of $24.02B, compared to forecast for EPS of $2.54 on revenue of $23.77B.

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Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) shares fell 2.8% after the pharmaceutical maker gave guidance for 2023 that was below expectations.

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Merck drops as full-year forecast misses consensus

Shares of Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) tumbled more than 4% Thursday despite the New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giant reporting stronger-than-expected FQ4 results.

Merck reported Q4 EPS of $1.62 on revenue of $13.8 billion, beating the consensus for earnings of $1.53 on revenue of $13.65B. Molnupiravir sales fell 13% year-over-year to $825 million, still much higher than the consensus of $376M. Keytruda sales rose 19% to $5.45B, in line with the analyst estimates.

Despite the earnings and revenue beat, the focus is on the company's guidance, which disappointed investors. For the full year, the pharmaceutical firm sees EPS between $6.80 and $6.95, a miss compared to the consensus of $7.36. Revenue is seen in the range of $57.2-58.7B, with the midpoint of the guidance ($57.95B) coming in below the consensus of $58.07B.

The company added that the Imago deal and Kelun-Biotech partnership are expected to have an impact of $0.53 per share on 2023 adjusted EPS.

Reacting to the report, Credit Suisse analysts said the initial 2023 guidance was "broadly in line with expectations."

"For 2023 Merck has guided for reported sales of $57.2-58.7bn, this compares to cons. and CS expectations of $58.0bn and $57.9bn. Reported EPS for 2023 is expected to be $6.80-6.95 vs. cons. $7.33 and CSe. $7.33. However, Merck previously disclosed the Imago acquisition and Kelun collaboration charge of c.$1.4bn will impact 2023 EPS by $0.53. As a sensitivity, this lowers cons. EPS to $6.80 and CS EPS to $6.80, which is in line with Merck EPS guidance," explained the analysts, who have an Outperform rating and a $120 price target on the stock.

Morgan Stanley analysts maintained an Equal-Weight rating and $100 price target on Merck shares, stating they expect Merck shares to be "relatively flat."

"2023 rev guidance of $57.2bn-$58.7bn (midpoint of $57.95, incl. 2% F/X impact and including Lagevrio sales of $1bn) bracketed Refinitiv cons of $57.9bn, but is below our $59.7bn. 2023 EPS guidance of $6.80-$6.95 (midpoint of $6.88) is below MSe/Refinitiv consensus $7.54/$7.36," wrote the analysts.

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Amgen & Eli Lilly upgraded to Overweight at Wells Fargo, Merck downgraded to Equal Weight

Wells Fargo upgraded Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) while downgrading Merck (NYSE:MRK).

Amgen was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $265.00 (from $275.00) as the firm believes the pessimism related to the company post-Horizon Therapeutics (NASDAQ:HZNP) deal has caused weakness, and it now sees the stock trading approximately 7-8% below the worst-case scenario.

“After combining AMGN-HZNP, we see FV of the company at $247 in a no-Tepezza US growth scenario and modest growth in other parts; the stock is trading below this level. Our base case assumes modest US growth and $5B peak sales for HZNP which is much lower than prior HZNP guidance of $6.5B peak,” said the firm.

Shares gained more than 2% today.

Eli Lilly was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $375.00 (from $360.00) as recent weakness creates a buying opportunity.

The firm’s previous Equal Weight thesis was based on unfavorable risk/reward for donanemab Alzheimer's data in H1/23 and the stock being priced to perfection for diabetes/obesity franchise.

Wells Fargo believes that the stock, being down 18% (S&P 500 -5%) without fundamental change, presents a good opportunity, given a good R&D engine, absence of near-to-medium-term loss of exclusivity, and that it is not dependent on M&A for growth.

Shares rose 3% today.

Meanwhile, Merck was downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight with a price target of $115.00 as the firm believes with the recent appreciation of stock, Merck seems fairly valued at ~16x 2023 PE given that it still has Keytruda-related LOE issues to solve.

Shares fell nearly 2% today.

https://www.investing.com/news/stock-ma ... SI-3029469

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Merck (NYSE:MRK) stock fell 0.1% after the drugs giant announced Sunday plans to acquire Prometheus Biosciences (NASDAQ:RXDX), up 70%, for just short of $11 billion, building up its presence in immunology.

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Investing.com -- Shares in Merck & Company Inc (NYSE:MRK) fell in early U.S. trading on Thursday, reversing premarket gains, as investors eyed first-quarter sales that beat analysts' estimates despite slipping by just under a tenth.

Sales at the drugmaker dropped by 8.9% year-on-year to $14.49 billion in the opening three months of its current fiscal period. Bloomberg consensus estimates had seen the figure at $13.76B.

On an adjusted basis, earnings per share moved down to $1.40 from $2.14 in the corresponding timeframe last year, but topped projections of $1.33.

The top-line slump stemmed from flagging post-pandemic demand for Merck's COVID pill molnupiravir, although this fall was largely anticipated. When removing molnupiravir, which is commonly sold under the name Lagevrio, sales grew by more than 10%.

Merck's popular cancer immunotherapy Keytruda and human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil helped offset this decrease as well. Sales of Keytruda jumped by a fifth to $5.8B, while revenue generated by Gardasil surged by 35% to $2.0B.

With the returns in mind, Merck raised its full-year financial guidance. Adjusted earnings per share is now expected to come at $6.88 to $7.00 in 2023, up from the prior range of $6.80 to $6.95. Sales are also projected at between $57.5B to $58.9B, an improvement from the previous band of $57.2B to $58.7B.

The figures come after Merck announced earlier this month that it had agreed to acquire California-based biotechnology firm Prometheus Biosciences in a deal valued at approximately $10.8B. Merck said the move will add "diversity" to its overall portfolio of treatments.

Adding to its drug pipeline has become a major strategic objective for Merck as it looks to soften the blow from the eventual expiration of its exclusive patent for Keytruda later this decade.

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(Reuters) -Merck & Co posted better-than-expected second-quarter sales on Tuesday on strong demand for its two top-selling products, cancer immunotherapy Keytruda and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil.

Shares of Merck rose about 2% at $108.45 in premarket trading after the company also raised its full-year revenue forecast.

Merck said Keytruda sales for the quarter jumped 19% to $6.3 billion, surpassing analysts' average estimate of $5.9 billion. Sales of Gardasil, which prevents cancers caused by HPV, surged 47% to $2.5 billion, also well above Wall Street estimates of $2.1 billion.

Merck CEO Rob Davis said Keytruda's strength is coming from within the United States and internationally, and the drug is increasingly being used ahead of other treatments.

"It's really driven by very strong uptake as we're continuing to move into earlier lines of cancer," Davis said in an interview. He added that Keytruda was being used more often against a particularly aggressive form of cancer known as triple negative breast cancer, contributing to its sales strength.

Use of Gardasil in China was the biggest driver of growth for the vaccine, Davis said. There is room for further Gardasil growth as its use expands into treating males and moves into smaller cities, he added.

The strength of Merck's underlying business, as well as multiple potential products in its pipeline should support strong earnings beyond the end of the decade, by when Keytruda is seen losing exclusivity, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Louise Chen said in a note.

Sales in the quarter stood at $15.0 billion, up from $14.6 billion a year ago, despite a sharp drop in demand for Merck's COVID-19 therapeutic Lagevrio.

Analysts, on average, had expected sales of $14.4 billion, according to Refinitiv data.

The company posted an adjusted loss of $5.2 billion, or $2.06 a share, primarily due to a $10.2 billion charge related to its acquisition of Prometheus Biosciences. Analysts had expected a loss of $2.18.

Its sales of Lagevrio also plunged to $200 million in the quarter from $1.2 billion a year earlier as demand for COVID-19 therapeutics dissipated amid low infection rates.

Last year, the company reported second-quarter earnings of $4.7 billion, or $1.87 a share.

It paid close to $11 billion in cash for Prometheus, adding a promising experimental treatment for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease to its pipeline.

Merck has been looking for deals to protect itself from eventual revenue loss as patents on Keytruda begin to expire toward the end of the decade.

Davis said the Prometheus deal will not constrain the company's ability to do more deals, and that Merck continues to "look for science-driven, science-led opportunities."

"While I feel pretty good about what we have in the internal pipeline and the progress we're making, we know there's more to do," he said.

Merck said it now expects full-year sales of $58.6 to $59.6 billion, up from its prior view of $57.7 billion to $58.9 billion. Analysts had forecast sales of $58.7 billion.

The U.S. drugmaker now expects to earn $2.95 to $3.05 a share for 2023.

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Pharmaceutical giants Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Daiichi Sankyo have entered into a significant partnership to develop and distribute three antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs)—patritumab deruxtecan, ifinatamab deruxtecan, and raludotatug deruxtecan—targeting solid tumors. The announcement was made on Friday.

The deal, which could amount up to $22 billion, involves an initial payment of $4 billion to Daiichi, followed by another $1.5 billion over the next two years. The agreement also includes potential future payments of $16.5 billion tied to sales milestones. For raludotatug deruxtecan, 75% of the initial $2 billion research and development costs will be shouldered by Merck.

The companies are scrutinizing these drugs as standalone treatments and as part of combination therapies for different types of cancer. The partnership could significantly bolster Merck's oncology portfolio.

As per the agreement, profits from the drug sales will be shared globally, except in Japan where Daiichi retains exclusive rights. The companies project these drugs to generate multi-billion dollar revenues by mid-2030s, contingent on regulatory approval. One of the drugs from this collaboration is expected to receive approval by March 2024.

This substantial deal is set to impact Merck's financials. It will result in approximately $1.70 per share in pre-tax charges on Merck's Q4 and full-year 2023 results and an adverse impact of about 25 cents per share in the first year after the deal's closure.

Merck shares experienced a 1% increase in early trading following the announcement, despite a 10% value loss year-to-date.

In addition to its new partnership with Merck, Daiichi Sankyo also collaborates with AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) on other cancer treatments, including ADC Enhertu, which is predicted to generate over $10 billion annually.