Merck Stock Jumps as Earnings Beat, Guidance Ahead of Wall Street Expectations

Merck & Co. stock was heading higher on Thursday after the pharmaceutical group reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and standout sales of a key drug. Merck posted earnings of 3 cents a share on revenue of $14.6 billion in the fourth quarter, outpacing expectations among analysts surveyed by FactSet, who had expected Merck to report an 11-cent loss on revenue of $14.5 billion. The company reported fourth-quarter sales of Keytruda at $6.6 billion, ahead of the $6.4 billion figure eyeballed by analysts.