Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate AMGN or MRK?

Amgen presently has a consensus price target of $300.94, suggesting a potential upside of 3.15%. Merck & Co., Inc. has a consensus price target of $104.33, suggesting a potential upside of 19.19%. 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
Amgen	1 Sell rating(s)	11 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.28
Merck & Co., Inc.	1 Sell rating(s)	13 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.30

Do insiders & institutionals believe in AMGN or MRK?

76.5% of Amgen shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 76.1% of Merck & Co., Inc. shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.8% of Amgen shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Merck & Co., Inc. shares are owned by company 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 risk & volatility, AMGN or MRK?

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

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, AMGN or MRK?

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
Amgen	$34.92B	4.50	$4.09B	$12.23	23.86
Merck & Co., Inc.	$63.62B	3.44	$17.12B	$6.49	13.49

Is AMGN or MRK 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
Amgen	18.96%	174.71%	13.12%
Merck & Co., Inc.	25.79%	41.05%	16.55%

Is AMGN or MRK a better dividend stock?

Amgen pays an annual dividend of $9.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Merck & Co., Inc. pays an annual dividend of $3.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. 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. pays out 49.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Amgen has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Merck & Co., Inc. 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.

Does the media prefer AMGN or MRK?

In the previous week, Merck & Co., Inc. had 39 more articles in the media than Amgen. MarketBeat recorded 79 mentions for Merck & Co., Inc. and 40 mentions for Amgen. Amgen's average media sentiment score of 1.39 beat Merck & Co., Inc.'s score of 1.36 indicating that Amgen is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Amgen	32 Very Positive mention(s)	5 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Merck & Co., Inc.	69 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	9 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Merck & Co., Inc. beats Amgen on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.