Sound Shore Management: “Merck & Co. (MRK) Remains Attractive at Less Than 12 Times 2023 Earnings”

Sound Shore Management, an investment management firm, published its second-quarter 2022 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. The Sound Shore Fund Investor Class (MUTF:SSHFX) and Institutional Class (MUTF:SSHVX) declined 13.45% and 13.41%, respectively, in the second quarter of 2022, trailing the Russell 1000 Value Index (Russell Value) which declined 12.21%. As long-term investors, Sound Shore’s 30-year annualized returns of 9.65% and 9.91%, for SSHFX and SSHVX, respectively, as of June 30, 2022, were ahead of the Russell Value at 9.54%. Go over the fund’s top 5 positions to have a glimpse of its finest picks for 2022.

In its Q2 2022 investor letter, Sound Shore 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 $233.2 billion market capitalization. Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) delivered a 20.15% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are up by 17.03%. The stock closed at $92.08 per share on August 19, 2022.

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

“On the positive side, a number of our health care names outperformed, including drug maker Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK). Benefitting from a best-in-class research and development team, Merck’s progress is being fueled by the impressive growth of its immuno oncology cancer drug, Keytruda. The stock remains attractive at less than 12 times 2023 earnings.”

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 -1.57% 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.