MRK vs PFE: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Merck & Co., Inc. and Pfizer Inc. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-05-20.
Merck & Co., Inc. · Healthcare
$114.27
+3.3% upside to fair value
Grade C
High Quality
VS
Pfizer Inc. · Healthcare
$26.33
+28.6% upside to fair value
Grade B
QuantHub Verdict
PFE has more upside to fair value
(+28.6%).
PFE trades at a lower forward P/E
(19.3x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MRK |
PFE |
| Current Price |
$114.27 |
$26.33 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$118.00 |
$33.85 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
+3.3%
|
+28.6%
|
| Market Cap |
$282.2B |
$149.8B |
| Forward P/E |
22.4x
|
19.3x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
13.5x
|
12.9x
|
| Price / Sales |
4.3x
|
2.4x
|
| Price / FCF |
20.2x
|
16.5x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+5.0%
|
-1.2%
|
| Gross Margin |
81.9%
|
70.3%
|
| Operating Margin |
27.5%
|
24.7%
|
| Return on Equity |
5.6%
|
8.7%
|
| Dividend Yield |
2.91% |
0% |
| FCF Yield |
4.95%
|
6.06%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Overweight
|
Hold
|
Investment Thesis
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…
Pfizer Inc. is a leading global pharmaceutical company specializing in drug manufacturing with a strong presence in vaccines, oncology, and primary care. The company benefits from a seasoned leadership team under CEO Albert Bourla, who has driven a strategic transformation focusing on science-driven innovation and portfolio optimization. Despite a high gross margin of 70.3% and solid operating ma…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MRK |
PFE |
| Zone Low |
$88.50 |
$25.39 |
| Zone High |
$100.30 |
$28.77 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|