Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) Opens in Green Amid FDA Rejection Related to Diabetes Drugs

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) entered the markets on April 7 in green, amid a thumbs down from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on its request to add labels to diabetes drugs informing users that they are not linked to higher risk of heart problems. Merck shares opened 0.09% up to $63.29, as of 9.47 am.

The pharmaceutical company, with a market cap of $173.66, billion asked the FDA to add the labels to its Januvia and Janumet diabetes drugs which raked in $6 billion in 2016. The request was made following 2015 studies conducted on 14,724 patients with type 2 diabetes and a history of heart disease. The results showed no increase in risks to heart problems, like heart failure, Reuters reported April 7.

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What Does The Smart Money Sentiment Say?

We saw a decline in trust of Merck shares quarter over quarter. Out of 742 funds that Insider Monkey tracks, 78 funds kept their shares amounting to $2.78 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, a decrease from 84 funds who held shares worth $3.85 billion on the third quarter of the same year. Ken Fisher of Fisher Asset Management saw a slight decrease in shares of Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) by 1% as of December 2016. Fisher holds 6.8 million shares worth $400 million.

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The Bottom Line

Shares of Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) are on the spotlight after the company was refused to place labels on their diabetes drugs to show they do not raise the risk of heart problems. Shares of the company are currently trading on the upper end of its 52-week range. To place a lighter tone on this article, what about checking out the 11 most popular songs about drugs?