5 Best Cheap Stocks to Buy for Beginners

4. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 98

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is one of the best cheap stocks to buy for beginners. Moderna, Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) announced on June 1 detailed results from a planned five-year follow-up analysis of the Phase 2b randomized KEYNOTE-942/mRNA-4157-P201 study evaluating intismeran autogene in combination with KEYTRUDA® in patients with high-risk melanoma following complete resection. Intismeran autogene is an investigational mRNA-based individualized neoantigen therapy, while KEYTRUDA® is Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy.

The company reported that Intismeran autogene in combination with KEYTRUDA exhibited an encouraging trend toward overall survival in an exploratory analysis compared to KEYTRUDA alone. It added that at “median 5-year (60.3 months) planned follow-up of the Phase 2b KEYNOTE-942/mRNA-4157-P201 study, intismeran autogene in combination with KEYTRUDA demonstrated a 49% reduction in the risk of recurrence or death and a 59% reduction in the risk of distant metastasis or death compared to KEYTRUDA alone”.

In a separate development, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) announced on May 26 that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.85 per share of the company’s common stock for fiscal Q3 2026, with payments set to be made on July 8, 2026, to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 15, 2026.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is a biopharmaceutical company that delivers health solutions to advance the treatment and prevention of diseases in animals and people. Its Pharmaceutical segment offers vaccines and human health pharmaceutical products, typically therapeutic and preventive agents. Its Animal Health segment develops, discovers, manufactures, and markets a range of vaccines and veterinary pharmaceutical products. The company’s medicine KEYTRUDA may treat certain cancers by working with the immune system.