5 Healthcare Stocks to Watch Amid Senate’s Healthcare Bill

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

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 84

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is the last healthcare company on our list. It operates through its Pharmaceutical and Animal Health segments, offering pharmaceutical products in several areas such as oncology and immunology. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was owned by 84 hedge funds in the first quarter, with a total stake value of $5.9 billion.

The company’s Keytruda drug may face a loss of patent exclusivity by 2026 in light of the Senate’s recent healthcare bill. Keytruda brought in $5.3 billion in the second quarter, up 26% year-over-year. It drove Merck & Co., Inc.’s (NYSE:MRK) total revenues up by 28% to $14.6 billion in that quarter. An untimely loss of patent exclusivity may thus hinder Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in the future.

Analyst Carter Gould at Barclays kept an ‘Overweight’ rating on Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) shares in August, alongside a $101 price target.

Sound Shore Fund, an investment management firm, mentioned Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in its second quarter 2022 investor letter. Here’s what the firm said:

“On the positive side, a number of our health care names outperformed, including drug maker Merck & Co. Benefitting from a best in class research and development team, Merck’s progress is being fueled by the impressive growth of its immunooncology cancer drug, Keytruda. The stock remains attractive at less than 12 times 2023 earnings.”

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