Deadbeat Stock #5: Merck (MRK)


Deadbeat stock #5 -- Merck (MRK)This declining company lost patent protection for its statin, Zocor. It has replaced some of these sales with three new drugs, but, in reality, they cannot make up for the lost revenue from Zocor.

Merck's (MRK) revenues are stagnant and the company has a very weak pipeline. Even if health care reform adds more patients, it will also bring increased pressure to cut prices.

If you want to invest in health care stocks, look at companies with real growth prospects like Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) or Gilead Sciences (GILD) rather than a dinosaur big Pharma outfit like Merck.

At the time of this writing, the author did not own shares of MRK.

Next: Deadbeat Stock #6: Amgen (AMGN)

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Last updated: February 10, 2012: 03:53 AM

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