JPMorgan raises target for Merck & Co. stock to USD 165.00

Published on 10/06/2026 at 10:07 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS

Revenue hit USD 16.61 billion in Q2 2026, up 5.10 percent year over year. Merck & Co. stock costs EUR 124.64 after EUR 124.28 on October 6, 2026.

Soft watercolor illustration of an American pharmaceutical campus nestled in New Jersey autumn forests. Brick and glass research buildings with horizontal ribbon windows rise above golden and red maple trees. Wooded hills recede into a pale blue sky rende — Merck US58933Y1055 Campus-Aquarell: Herbstliche Pharma-Forschungsgebäude liegen tief eingebettet in den New-Jersey-Wäldern, weiche Pastelltöne, Illustration mit AI erstellt.

Merck & Co. (ISIN US58933Y1055) stock was trading at EUR 124.64 at Lang & Schwarz on October 6, 2026 at 10:02 a.m. CEST. On October 5, 2026, JPMorgan raised its price target for Merck from USD 150.00 to USD 165.00 while keeping an Overweight rating, according to Markets Insider.

JPMorgan sees pipeline value

JPMorgan cited upcoming data for sac-TMT in lung cancer and intismeran autogene in melanoma, while expecting no major surprises in the third-quarter report. The company has scheduled that report for October 29, 2026, according to Merck investor relations.

The target increase places JPMorgan's USD 165.00 view 32.33 percent above the EUR price only if currencies are converted, so that cross-currency comparison is not used here. For investors, the relevant distinction is that the analyst action rests on pipeline milestones rather than on a new earnings release.

Revenue grows while profit absorbs charges

Merck reported USD 16.61 billion in revenue for the second quarter of 2026, up 5.10 percent from USD 15.81 billion in the second quarter of 2025, according to Merck investor relations. The standardized quarterly figures show a net loss attributable to common shareholders of USD 1.34 billion and diluted earnings per share of minus USD 0.54 for the same period.

The loss reflects substantial transaction-related charges. Merck's second-quarter earnings call described a USD 2.31 per-share one-time charge linked to the Terns acquisition, while full-year non-GAAP earnings guidance stands at USD 2.66 to USD 2.76 per share.

Keytruda remains the central test

KEYTRUDA and KEYTRUDA QLEX generated USD 8.40 billion in second-quarter 2026 sales, up 4.00 percent, according to Trefis. That figure equals more than half of the company's USD 16.61 billion quarterly revenue, making replacement products and late-stage pipeline execution central to the valuation case.

Merck's full-year 2026 revenue outlook is USD 66.3 billion to USD 67.3 billion, representing growth of 2.00 percent to 4.00 percent. The company also points to more than 20 potential products and over USD 70.00 billion of commercial opportunity in the mid-2030s, but those figures describe future potential rather than current sales.

Stock price and upcoming catalyst

Merck stock was trading at EUR 124.64 at Lang & Schwarz on October 6, 2026 at 10:02 a.m. CEST, up 0.29 percent versus the prior close of EUR 124.28 on October 5, 2026. The primary listing was last at USD 139.54 on the NYSE on October 5, 2026 at 4:02 p.m. ET, while its market capitalization was USD 344.6 billion as of that quote.

The next scheduled company milestone is the October 29, 2026 third-quarter report, followed by an October 26, 2026 investor event at ESMO. The further course of trading is shown by the continuously updated real-time quote of Merck & Co stock.