Why Are These Five Stocks in Focus on Tuesday?

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK)‘s stock has gained around 2% so far today on the back of its earnings report. During the third quarter, the pharmaceutical giant delivered a 7% annual growth in adjusted EPS to $0.96, although its sales inched down by 5% to $10.07 billion. Analysts anticipated the company to post EPS of $0.92 on revenue of $10.08 billion. In addition, Merck & Co raised its full-year earnings outlook, with it currently expecting to deliver non-GAAP EPS between $3.55 and $3.60. A total of 71 funds from our database held stakes in Merck at the end of June, while in the current 13F round of filings, Fisher Asset Management disclosed holding 6.76 million shares.

Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX) has also reported quarterly results, for the first time since the spin-off of Baxalta Inc (NYSE:BXLT). The company delivered adjusted earnings of $0.41 per share, slightly below the $0.44 per share it reported a year earlier, but better than the $0.29 expected by analysts and significantly above the high end of its previously forecasted range of $0.29-to-$0.31. Its sales, however, declined by 8% on the year to $2.50 billion, versus estimates of $2.46 billion. The company said that foreign exchange negatively affected its sales in the third quarter. During the second quarter, the number of funds bullish on Baxter International Inc (NYSE:BAX) fell by 11 to 39.

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