5 Stocks to Buy According to James Morrow’s Callodine Capital Management

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

Callodine Capital Management’s Stake Value: $14,131,000
Percentage of Callodine Capital Management’s 13F Portfolio: 4.18%
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 79

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) provides health solutions through its prescription medications, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. The company has joint ventures with AstraZeneca PLC (NASDAQ:AZN), Bayer AG, Eisai Co., Ltd., Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, and Gilead Sciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:GILD) to develop and sell long-acting HIV treatments. On October 1, China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) approved Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)’s Lynparza oncology drug to treat patients with an advanced form of ovarian cancer.

On September 14, analyst Luisa Hector of Berenberg raised Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) from ‘Hold’ to ‘Buy’ with a $100 price objective, up from $95. In addition, fund managers reduced their Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) holdings in the second quarter. According to Insider Monkey’s Q2 data, 79 hedge funds had long bets on Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) as of June 30, compared to 84 funds in the preceding quarter.

Callodine Capital Management held 155,000 shares in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) worth over $14.13 million at the end of Q2, representing 4.18% of its investment portfolio. The hedge fund boosted its stake in the firm by an impressive 934%.

Chartwell Investment Partners mentioned Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in its Q2 2022 investor letter. Here’s what the fund said:

“In the Dividend Equity accounts, the three best performers in Q2 includes Merck (NYSE:MRK, 3.6%), up 12.0%. Merck, like other pharma companies, is in a defensive business, but the stock also did well as peak-sales estimates for their flagship drug, Keytruda, have gone up (JPMorgan estimates $32 billion in sales by 2026).”