MRK vs UNH: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Merck & Co., Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-04-11.
Merck & Co., Inc. · Healthcare
$121.42
-2.9% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
VS
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated · Healthcare
$304.33
+41.3% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B+
QuantHub Verdict
UNH has more upside to fair value
(+41.3%).
MRK trades at a lower forward P/E
(14.0x).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
See all research →
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MRK |
UNH |
| Current Price |
$121.42 |
$304.33 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$118.00 |
$430.00 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-2.9%
|
+41.3%
|
| Market Cap |
$300.2B |
$276.2B |
| Forward P/E |
14.0x
|
15.1x
|
| EV / EBITDA |
11.8x
|
14.3x
|
| Price / Sales |
4.1x
|
0.6x
|
| Price / FCF |
21.4x
|
17.2x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+1.3%
|
+11.8%
|
| Gross Margin |
81.5%
|
18.5%
|
| Operating Margin |
41.2%
|
4.2%
|
| Return on Equity |
34.7%
|
12.7%
|
| Dividend Yield |
3.1% |
2.9% |
| FCF Yield |
4.7%
|
5.82%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Merck is a top-5 global pharmaceutical company generating $65B in annual revenue with 81.5% gross margins and 28% net margins. Keytruda, the world's best-selling drug at $31.7B (49% of pharma revenue), faces patent expiry in 2028. Merck is aggressively building replacements through M&A and pipeline launches: Winrevair ($1.4B year one), Capvaxive ($759M), and the $6.7B Terns acquisition for TERN-7…
UnitedHealth Group is the world's largest diversified healthcare company, combining the dominant US health insurer UnitedHealthcare with the high-margin Optum services platform spanning care delivery, pharmacy benefits, and data analytics. The stock has fallen roughly 49% from its 2024 peak of $596, driven by elevated medical costs, DOJ antitrust scrutiny, CEO transitions (Brian Thompson's murder…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MRK |
UNH |
| Zone Low |
$88.00 |
$280.00 |
| Zone High |
$100.00 |
$340.00 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|