ISRG vs MRK: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Intuitive Surgical, Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-05-20.
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. · Healthcare
$451.29
+45.0% upside to fair value
Grade B
High Quality
VS
Merck & Co., Inc. · Healthcare
$114.27
+3.3% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
ISRG has more upside to fair value
(+45.0%).
MRK trades at a lower forward P/E
(22.4x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
ISRG |
MRK |
| Current Price |
$451.29 |
$114.27 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$654.37 |
$118.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+45.0%
|
+3.3%
|
| Market Cap |
$160.3B |
$282.2B |
| Forward P/E |
53.8x
|
22.4x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
40.5x
|
13.5x
|
| Price / Sales |
15.2x
|
4.3x
|
| Price / FCF |
64.3x
|
20.2x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+23.0%
|
+5.0%
|
| Gross Margin |
66.3%
|
81.9%
|
| Operating Margin |
30.5%
|
27.5%
|
| Return on Equity |
17.0%
|
5.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0% |
2.91% |
| FCF Yield |
1.55%
|
4.95%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Overweight
|
Investment Thesis
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. is a leading healthcare company specializing in robotic-assisted surgery through its flagship da Vinci system, which has established a durable competitive moat with approximately 10,000 systems installed globally and nearly 17 million procedures performed by the end of 2024. The company benefits from a high-quality business model characterized by 85% recurring revenue, st…
Merck delivered a clean Q1 2026 operational beat on April 30, with revenue of 16.3 billion dollars growing 5 percent year over year and Keytruda sales rising 12 percent to 8.0 billion dollars. The reported loss of 1.28 dollars per share, though better than the negative 1.47 dollar consensus estimate, reflected a 3.62 dollar per share IPR and D charge tied to the Cidara Therapeutics acquisition an…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
ISRG |
MRK |
| Zone Low |
$490.78 |
$88.50 |
| Zone High |
$556.21 |
$100.30 |
| In Buy Zone? |
Yes
|
No
|