NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Shares of Merck & Co. Inc. are lower by 1.74% to $56.61 after the drugmaker reported lower than expected 2014 third quarter revenue,abut cost cuts enabled the company to beat earnings forecasts. The company reported earnings of $895 million, or 31 cents per share, in the 2014 third quarter, compared with $1.12 billion, or 38 cents per share, for the same period a year ago. Excluding special items, Merck earned 90 cents per share, topping the average analyst forecast of 88 cents per share, according to a survey by Reuters. Must Read:aMerck's Q3 Results Beat Street on Bottom Line But Miss on Top STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more. "Last October, we launched a multi-year initiative to transform Merck and build a platform for sustained, future growth," CEO Kenneth Frazier said, adding "One year later, we delivered solid third-quarter results and are making steady progress in our transformation, including divesting non-core assets, reducing our expense base and investing in our promising new product launches and pipeline." Additionally, the FDA approved KEYTRUDA for the treatment of advanced melanoma in patients who have progressed after other therapies and BELSOMRA for the treatment of insomnia, the company said. Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates MERCK & CO as a Buy with a ratings score of A. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation: "We rate MERCK & CO (MRK) a BUY. This is based on the convergence of positive investment measures, which should help this stock outperform the majority of stocks that we rate. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its solid stock price performance, increase in net income, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, reasonable valuation levels and growth in earnings per share. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows weak operating cash flow." You can view the full analysis from the report here: MRK Ratings Report MRK data by YCharts STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12 months. Learn more.
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