Shares of healthcare major Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK) are ticking upward today after the company posted better-than-expected first-quarter numbers.
Revenue slid 8.9% year-over-year to $14.48 billion but came in ahead of expectations by $660 million. EPS at $1.40 too came in ahead of estimates by $0.08. Merck continues to see growth in Oncology and Vaccines with Keytruda sales rising 20% and Gardasil sales rising 35% during the quarter. Sales of Lagevrio, on the other hand, nosedived 88% in Q1.
Looking ahead, for the year 2023, the company now expects sales to hover between $57.7 billion and $58.9 billion with Lagevrio expected to rake in $1 billion. EPS is seen landing between $6.88 and $7.
Overall, the Street has a $120.94 consensus price target on Merck, implying a potential upside of 6.6% in the stock. That’s on top of a 34.3% rise in the share price over the past year.
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