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Here is why Merck (MRK) is Among the 8 Best Counter Cyclical Stocks to Buy Right Now

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is one of the 8 Best Counter Cyclical Stocks to Buy Right Now.

On April 21, 2026, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Idvynso, a single-tablet regimen combining 100 mg doravirine and 0.25 mg islatravir, for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults. The therapy is intended to replace a current antiretroviral regimen in patients who are virologically suppressed on a stable regimen, with no history of treatment failure and no known resistance to doravirine. Idvynso is contraindicated with strong CYP3A enzyme inducers and with lamivudine or emtricitabine, and is expected to be available in pharmacies after May 11.

A day earlier, the company said the FDA granted priority review for two supplemental Biologics License Applications for KEYTRUDA and KEYTRUDA QLEX, each in combination with Padcev, for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer eligible for cisplatin-based chemotherapy, with a target action date of August 17. The applications are based on Phase 3 KEYNOTE-B15 data and, if approved, would expand use of the combinations as perioperative treatments regardless of cisplatin eligibility, building on existing approvals for patients ineligible for cisplatin-based chemotherapy. KEYTRUDA plus Padcev is already approved for locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer in the U.S., European Union, Japan, and other markets.

Source: Unsplash

Last week, UBS analyst Michael Yee raised the firm’s price target on Merck to $145 from $130 and maintained a Buy rating as part of a Q1 preview across the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology group.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) operates as a healthcare company worldwide.

While we acknowledge the risk and potential of MRK as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than MRK and that has 10,000% upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.

READ NEXT: 33 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and Cathie Wood 2026 Portfolio: 10 Best Stocks to Buy. 

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The $250 Trillion AI Hype is Real. A few years from now, you’ll probably wish you’d bought this stock.

When Jeff Bezos said that one breakthrough technology would shape Amazon’s destiny, even Wall Street’s biggest analysts were caught off guard.

Fast forward a year and Amazon’s new CEO Andy Jassy described generative AI as a “once-in-a-lifetime” technology that is already being used across Amazon to reinvent customer experiences.

At the 8th Future Investment Initiative conference, Elon Musk predicted that by 2040 there would be at least 10 billion humanoid robots, with each priced between $20,000 and $25,000.

Do the math. According to Musk, this technology could be worth $250 trillion by 2040.

Put another way, that’s roughly equal to:

  • 175 Teslas
  • 107 Amazons
  • 140 Metas
  • 84 Googles
  • 65 Microsofts
  • And 55 Nvidias

And here’s the wild part — this $250 trillion wave isn’t tied to one company, but to an entire ecosystem of AI innovators set to reshape the global economy.

It’s a leap so massive, it could reshape how businesses, governments, and consumers operate worldwide.

Even if that $250 trillion figure sounds ambitious, major firms like PwC and McKinsey still see AI unlocking multi-trillion-dollar potential.

How could anything be worth that much?

The answer lies in a breakthrough so powerful it’s redefining how humanity works, learns, and creates.

And this breakthrough has already set off a frenzy among hedge funds and Wall Street’s top investors.

What most investors don’t realize is that one under-owned company holds the key to this $250 trillion revolution.

In fact, Verge argues this company’s supercheap AI technology should concern rivals.

Before I reveal the details, let’s talk about how some of the richest people on the planet are positioning themselves.

  • Bill Gates sees artificial intelligence as the “biggest technological advance in my lifetime,” more transformative than the internet or personal computer, capable of improving healthcare, education, and addressing climate change.
  • Larry Ellison — through Oracle, is spending billions on Nvidia chips and partnering with Cohere to embed generative AI across Oracle’s cloud and apps.
  • Warren Buffett — not known for tech hype — says this breakthrough could have a ‘hugely beneficial social impact.

When billionaires from Silicon Valley to Wall Street line up behind the same idea — you know it’s worth paying attention to.

Even as we admire what Tesla, Nvidia, Alphabet, and Microsoft have built, we believe an even greater opportunity lies elsewhere…

But the real story isn’t Nvidia — it’s a much smaller company quietly improving the critical technology that makes this entire revolution possible.

And judging by what I’m hearing from both Silicon Valley insiders and Wall Street veterans…

This prediction might not be bold at all:

A few years from now, you’ll wish you’d owned this stock.

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