Merck (MRK) Offering Possible 29.72% Return Over the Next 21 Calendar Days

Merck's most recent trend suggests a bearish bias. One trading opportunity on Merck is a Bear Call Spread using a strike $75.50 short call and a strike $81.00 long call offers a potential 29.72% return on risk over the next 21 calendar days. Maximum profit would be generated if the Bear Call Spread were to expire worthless, which would occur if the stock were below $75.50 by expiration. The full premium credit of $1.26 would be kept by the premium seller. The risk of $4.24 would be incurred if the stock rose above the $81.00 long call strike price.

The 5-day moving average is moving down which suggests that the short-term momentum for Merck is bearish and the probability of a decline in share price is higher if the stock starts trending.

The 20-day moving average is moving down which suggests that the medium-term momentum for Merck is bearish.

The RSI indicator is below 20 which suggests that the stock is in oversold territory.

To learn how to execute such a strategy while accounting for risk and reward in the context of smart portfolio management, and see how to trade live with a successful professional trader, view more here

LATEST NEWS for Merck

Merck (MRK) Gains As Market Dips: What You Should Know
Wed, 24 Apr 2019 21:45:09 +0000
Merck (MRK) closed at $74.73 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.17% move from the prior day.

Why Investors Should Buy the Dip in MRK Stock
Wed, 24 Apr 2019 19:42:38 +0000
The collapse of healthcare stocks, especially drug companies, may have finally abated. Merck (NYSE:MRK) has fallen 12% from its April 3 high. But the MRK freefall seems to have finally leveled off.Source: Shutterstock The instinctive reaction would be to buy the dip. Merck's five-year gain is now half that of the average S&P 500 stock, but it's still up 24% in the last year. And what initially sent MRK stock down was fear of politicians, not changes at the business.But Merck stock is still not cheap. Its trailing P/E ratio is 32, and the dividend of 55 cents per share still yields just 2.65% — lower than many other dividend stocks. That dividend was just hiked in December, and thus isn't due to rise again for 8 more months.InvestorPlace – Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips * 7 Red-Hot E-Commerce Stocks to Consider Merck is due to report first-quarter earnings on April 30, with $1.05 per share expected on revenue of $10.36 billion. That's a big jump from last year's earnings pace, albeit on less revenue. But if MRK stock keeps growing like this, it would justify both a big dividend hike and an increase in its stock buyback, now at $10 billion on a market cap of $192 billion. The Keytruda MiracleThere are also reasons to find the earnings momentum sustainable.Keytruda, a cancer drug best known for having kept former President Jimmy Carter alive a few years ago, continues to score big with regulators. It's now a first-line drug against advanced kidney cancer, in conjunction with Inlyta from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE).Keytruda is one of three so-called PD-1 inhibitors on the market, alongside Opdivo from Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) and Libtayo from Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN). These are monoclonal antibodies that keep cells from attacking one another. Turning off this chemical "off switch" boosts the immune system response to cancer cells. While Opdivo is heavily advertised, it is Keytruda that has been scoring the bigger wins in late-stage studies. The most recent one is Keynote-426, which gave 861 patients two years of the drug, which can cost over $100,000 per year. Keytruda was worth over $7 billion to Merck last year. The Price BacklashIt's Keytruda's price, which doesn't apply in countries that bargain directly for drugs, that caused the healthcare sector's fall from grace this month.That pushback takes many forms, from cost-effectiveness studies to state and national legislation. But the industry's lobbyists still stand strong in Republican Washington.This includes Merck CEO Ken Frazier, who recently agreed to stay on past his normal retirement age for a $20.9 million pay package.Frazier is charged with defending the industry against attacks on its profits and diversifying the company's $42 billion in sales beyond Keytruda, which represents 17% of Merck's total revenue.Merck recently won approval for Mavenclad, a potential blockbuster drug for multiple sclerosis, and it made 60 acquisitions during 2018. These include expansion in animal pharmaceuticals and immunotherapy. Its current late-stage drug pipeline has been valued at $13 billion. The Bottom LineMerck is due to bounce back at least 10%, as the recent downdraft in health care stocks fades from memory, just as the December fall of tech stocks faded.Of 18 analysts now following the stock, 13 now have it on their buy lists and confidence is up over three months ago. * 10 Stocks to Sell Before They Give Back 2019 Gains A beat on the quarterly earnings estimate should be the catalyst to take Merck to new highs, and its pipeline should keep it profitable no matter what Congress decides to do. This is a dip both speculators and investors will enjoy buying.Dana Blankenhorn http://www.danablankenhorn.com is a financial and technology journalist. He is the author of a new mystery thriller, The Reluctant Detective Finds Her Family https://www.amazon.com/Reluctant-Detective-Finds-Her-Family-ebook/dp/B07FSRDR4Y/, available now at the Amazon Kindle store. Write him at danablankenhorn@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @danablankenhorn. As of this writing he owned no shares in companies mentioned in this article. More From InvestorPlace * 2 Toxic Pot Stocks You Should Avoid * 10 Oversold Stocks to Run From * 7 Red-Hot E-Commerce Stocks to Consider * 4 Stocks Surging on Earnings Surprises Compare Brokers The post Why Investors Should Buy the Dip in MRK Stock appeared first on InvestorPlace.

AbbVie and Bristol-Myers Squibb will report first-quarter earnings on Thursday. Here’s what to expect
Wed, 24 Apr 2019 17:50:00 +0000
Here’s what investors should look for on Thursday as these two pharmaceutical giants report first-quarter earnings.

What to Expect from Merck’s Q1 Revenues and Earnings
Wed, 24 Apr 2019 13:50:11 +0000
What to Expect from Merck’s Q1 2019 Results(Continued from Prior Part)Financial performance in the first quarter Wall Street analysts have forecasted Merck’s (MRK) revenues to be $10.48 billion, $10.92 billion, $11.34 billion, and $11.62 billion,

What Are Analysts Recommending for Merck?
Wed, 24 Apr 2019 12:17:08 +0000
What to Expect from Merck’s Q1 2019 ResultsStock price movements On April 22, Merck (MRK) issued a press release announcing FDA approval for the combination of Keytruda with Pfizer’s (PFE) Inlyta in the first-line advanced RCC (renal cell

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