Is Merck & Co. (MRK) a Great Investment Pick?

Praetorian Capital, an investment management firm, published its second-quarter 2022 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. During the second quarter of 2022, the fund declined by 15.69% net of fees. For 2022, the fund’s performance for the first half of the year, net of fees, was -2.58%. Given the fund’s concentrated portfolio structure and focus on asymmetric opportunities, they anticipate that the fund will be rather volatile from quarter to quarter. Go over the fund’s top 5 positions to have a glimpse of its finest picks for 2022.

In its Q2 2022 investor letter, Baron Health Care Fund mentioned Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) and explained its insights for the company. Founded in 1891, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) is a Kenilworth, New Jersey-based multinational pharmaceutical company with a $230.5 billion market capitalization. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) delivered an 18.76% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are up by 18.64%. The stock closed at $91.02 per share on August 12, 2022.

Here is what Baron Health Care Fund has to say about Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in its Q2 2022 investor letter:

“Merck & Co., Inc. is a large-cap pharmaceutical company with a deep heritage in drug discovery. Shares increased on the continued growth of key asset Keytruda, the leading immune oncology agent used to treat a variety of cancers. There has been media coverage of a potentially transformative deal to acquire Seattle Genetics and we are following the updates carefully. We retain long-term conviction as we expect Keytruda to solidify its position as the best-selling biopharmaceutical drug of all time.”

wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock.com

Our calculations show that Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) fell short and didn’t make it on our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) was in 84 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the second quarter of 2022, compared to 80 funds in the previous quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) delivered a 0.67% return in the past 3 months.

In August 2022, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) in another article. You can find other investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2022 Q2 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.