Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Competitors

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) and Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk and earnings.

Is MRK or AMGN more profitable?

Merck & Co., Inc. has a net margin of 25.79% compared to Amgen's net margin of 18.96%. Amgen's return on equity of 174.71% beat Merck & Co., Inc.'s return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Merck & Co., Inc.	25.79%	41.05%	16.55%
Amgen	18.96%	174.71%	13.12%

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, MRK or AMGN?

Merck & Co., Inc. has higher revenue and earnings than Amgen. Merck & Co., Inc. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Amgen, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Merck & Co., Inc.	$64.17B	3.27	$17.12B	$6.49	12.94
Amgen	$33.42B	4.52	$4.09B	$12.23	22.93

Is MRK or AMGN a better dividend stock?

Merck & Co., Inc. pays an annual dividend of $3.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Amgen pays an annual dividend of $9.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Merck & Co., Inc. pays out 49.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Amgen pays out 77.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Merck & Co., Inc. has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Amgen has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Merck & Co., Inc. is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Do institutionals & insiders believe in MRK or AMGN?

76.1% of Merck & Co., Inc. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.5% of Amgen shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Merck & Co., Inc. shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of Amgen shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, MRK or AMGN?

Merck & Co., Inc. has a beta of 0.37, indicating that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amgen has a beta of 0.49, indicating that its share price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media refer more to MRK or AMGN?

In the previous week, Merck & Co., Inc. had 5 more articles in the media than Amgen. MarketBeat recorded 58 mentions for Merck & Co., Inc. and 53 mentions for Amgen. Merck & Co., Inc.'s average media sentiment score of 1.32 beat Amgen's score of 1.03 indicating that Merck & Co., Inc. is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Merck & Co., Inc.	46 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Amgen	31 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer MRK or AMGN?

Merck & Co., Inc. currently has a consensus price target of $107.44, indicating a potential upside of 27.95%. Amgen has a consensus price target of $304.43, indicating a potential upside of 8.56%. Given Merck & Co., Inc.'s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Merck & Co., Inc. is more favorable than Amgen.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Merck & Co., Inc.	1 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.35
Amgen	2 Sell rating(s)	12 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.32

Summary

Merck & Co., Inc. beats Amgen on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.