Company Update (NYSE:MRK): FDA Approves Expanded Indication for Merck’s KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) for the Treatment of Patients with Advanced Melanoma

[Business Wire] – Merck , known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved an expanded indication for KEYTRUDA® , the company’s anti-PD-1 therapy, to include the first-line treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. Read more on this. Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) , currently valued at $144.26B, began trading this morning at $52.15. A quick look at the market, the company’s stock traded between $51.61 and $52.32 and has traded between $45.69 and $63.62 over the past year. Priced at 14.75x this year’s forecasted earnings, MRK shares are relatively expensive compared to the industry’s -2.14x forward p/e ratio. The company pays shareholders $1.84 per share in dividend income per year, for a current yield of 3.48%. According to a consensus of 16 analysts, the earnings estimate of $0.90 per share would be $0.03 better than the year-ago quarter and a $0.01 sequential increase. Investors should also note that the full-year EPS estimate of $3.57 is a $0.08 improvement when compared to the previous year’s annual results. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $10.31 Billion. If reported, that would be a 1.62% decrease over the year-ago quarter. More recently, Piper Jaffray Initiated MRK at Neutral (Jun 17, 2015). Previously, MKM Partners upgraded MRK from Neutral to Buy. Given all the information above, we should disclose to readers that the average price target is $62.56, which is 19.96% above than it opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:MRK) Similar Articles: Company Update: Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK) – Merck’s Pembrolizumab Shows Superior Overall Survival Compared to Chemotherapy in Patients with Previously Treated Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Whose Tumors Express PD-L1 Company Update (NYSE:MRK): FDA Accepts Supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), Merck’s Anti-PD-1 Therapy, for First-Line Treatment of Advanced Melanoma, and Grants Priority Review Market Update (NYSE:MRK): European Commission Approves Merck’s Anti-PD-1 Therapy, KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), for Both First-line and Previously-treated Patients with Advanced Melanoma