Should You Buy the Dip and Follow Insiders into These 10 Stocks?

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

Number of Insiders Buying: 2

Market Capitalization: $239.44 billion

Merck & Co. is a healthcare company focused on the development of treatment for oncology, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes. The Rahway, New Jersey-headquartered company also operates an animal health division concentrated on veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and health management solutions. It is a dividend-paying stock and one of the 7 most undervalued biotech stocks to invest in.

For the full year of 2024, the company reported sales of $64.16 billion, compared to $60.12 billion in 2023.

Among the recent company’s developments is the European Commission’s conditional approval for Merck & Co.’s WELIREG (belzutifan), the first oral HIF-2α inhibitor in the EU, for two indications: treatment of adult patients with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease and advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

Merck & Co. also recently announced positive results from two Phase 3 trials of a new HIV treatment called doravirine/islatravir (DOR/ISL). This once-daily, oral, two-drug regimen was tested in adults whose HIV is already well-controlled on other therapies. In both trials, DOR/ISL worked just as well as current treatments and met safety goals after 48 weeks. The results will be presented at the 32nd Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in San Francisco. Merck plans to apply for approval to sell this new treatment by mid-2025.

In February, two insiders bought a total of $1.577 million worth of Merck & Co. shares at an average price of $88.38 per share. Since the beginning of the year, the stock declined 4.71% and now trades at $94.79. Over the past 12 months, its shares lost 21.94%.

The consensus rating on Merck & Co. stock from 23 analysts is “Moderate Buy,” according to MarketBeat. The analysts have projected a price of $117.12, suggesting a potential upside of 23.49%.