Merck downgraded to hold at Societe Generale on Keytruda patent, pipeline concerns
Michael M. Santiago
- Societe Generale has downgraded Merck to hold from buy saying that the company's life-cycle management strategies for Keytruda, which will see patents expire at the end of the decade, are too late.
- The company has a price target of $105 (~1% downside based on Tuesday's close).
- Analyst Justin Smith said that the company's cardiovascular pipeline is also too early to begin exciting investors.
- He added that the firm projects a 50% variance in peak to trough EPS from 2028 to 2032.
- Read why Seeking Alpha contributor Edmund Ingham calls Merck (NYSE:MRK) a hold.