15 Dow Stocks Listed and Ranked By 2022 Hedge Fund Bullishness Index

8. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 84

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is one of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical firms, developing drug therapies and vaccines for a range of disorders.

Investors are rotating towards large-cap biopharmaceutical stocks as a defensive play in the current macro setup. 84 hedge funds reported ownership of stakes in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) as of the close of Q1 2022, compared to 80 hedge funds in the preceding quarter. Fisher Asset Management, with a $970.8 million position, was the leading shareholder of Merck in the first quarter.

Miller Howard Investments talked about many stocks in its Q3 2021 investor letter, and Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was one of them. The firm said:

“While optimistic about a recovery, we continue to balance our cyclical holdings with dividend-payers in stable, less economically-sensitive industries. We hold three pharmaceutical companies, (which includes) Merck (MRK). All three have strong cash flows and balance sheets, making their high dividends reasonably safe. The investment controversy surrounding these pharma companies is whether they can develop or acquire new products to replace their current blockbuster drugs. The low valuations on these stocks reflects what we believe to be undue pessimism by investors on the prospects for new drugs.”