Is Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) A Good Stock To Buy?

Now, some big names have jumped into Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) headfirst. Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, initiated the most valuable position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK). Citadel Investment Group had $200.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Zach Schreiber’s Point State Capital also made a $172.7 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The other funds with brand new MRK positions include Bain Capital’s Brookside Capital, James Dondero’s Highland Capital Management, and Aaron Cowen’s Suvretta Capital Management.

Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) but similarly valued. These stocks are The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD), The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), and Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM). This group of stocks’ market values resemble MRK’s market value.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 62.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $5.20 billion. That figure was $3.85 billion in MRK’s case. Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) is the least popular one with only 45 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is more popular among hedge funds, though Comcast has far more money invested in it. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.

Disclosure: None