Merck & Co’s., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) has declared that its Keytruda has received the approval of the FDA. FDA has given the green signal for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) with Keytruda in combination with chemotherapy.
FDA has supported Keytruda after assessing the Phase III KEYNOTE-355 trial. In the clinical trial, the treatment of TNBC with Keytruda in conjunction with the chemo has shown positive results as the treatment has decreased the risk of disease and reduced the disease growth or death by 35%.
In the Phase III KEYNOTE-355 trial, almost 38% of the patients had tumors and almost 15-20% of the patients have been diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. This diagnosis is difficult to treat. KEYTRUDA can cause serious or life-threatening reactions. KEYTRUDA can cause embryonic harm when given to a pregnant woman based on its method of action.
The green signal for KEYTRUDA in conjunction with chemo has provided an opportunity for physicians to cure suitable patients. This authorization for KEYTRUDA is the greatest achievement of the company for the cure of aggressive type of cancer.
Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) has seen some recent activity in the marketplace and its common shares closed trading at $81.09 yesterday. Investors are starting to take notice of MRK as the common shares traded as high as $81.85 and as low as $79.72 in the prior market session.
Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) average trading volume is 8.21M. However, in the prior market session Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) traded 7,333,524 shares. The 1st support level on MRK is $80.87 and the 1st upside resistance level on MRK is $87.69. MRK 50-day moving average is $79.78 and MRK two hundred days moving average is $80.25.
Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) current performance has been indicated by the recent movement in MRK common shares. MRK has performed 2.57% over the past 4 weeks, MRK has performed -4.33% over the past 3 months and MRK has shown -4.09% over the past 365 days. Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) has a 12 month range of $65.25 to $92.64. Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) is trading 24.28% from its 12 month low and -12.47% from its 12 month high. Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) is showing a 0.42% short float showing the amount short in the float.
MRK has 2.53B shares outstanding and 2.53B shares in the float. Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) presently has a market cap of $205.35B and an income of 11.57B. The EPS next quarter for MRK is 1.37 and the forecasted EPS next year is 6.75%. The market cap of Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) at $205.35B represents how many Investors own shares of MRK and is based off the last price ($81.09) of MRK and the number of shares outstanding (2.53B) with Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK).
Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) has total cash (mrq) of 7.36B, total cash per share (mrq) of 2.91, total debt of MRK stands at 28.74B and total debt/equity (mrq) is 98.19. Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) operating cash flow (ttm) is 11.04B, MRK leveraged free cash flow (ttm) is 8.65B.
MRK is trading 2.93% above (bullish) its SMA20, -0.02% below (bearish) its SMA50 and 1.32% above (bullish) its SMA200.