Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) on Friday posted an 11% decline in second quarter earnings, hurt by one-time charges, but adjusted results beat Wall Street’s expectations.

The Whitehouse Station, NJ-based company reported second quarter net income of $1.79 billion, or 58 cents per share, compared with $2.02 billion, or 65 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding special items, adjusted profit was $1.05 per share.

Revenue rose 1.3% from last year to $12.31 billion.

On average, Wall Street analysts expected a smaller profit of $1.01 per share, on lower revenue of $12.15 billion.

Looking ahead, MRK reaffirmed its previously-announced full-year earnings outlook.

Merck shares rose $1.27, or +2.9%, in premarket trading Friday.

The Bottom Line
Shares of Merck (MRK) have a 3.88% dividend yield, based on last night’s closing stock price of $43.33. The stock has technical support in the $38-$40 price area. If the shares can firm up, we see overhead resistance around the $45-$47 price levels.

Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

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