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 2026-09-18.
Merck & Co., Inc. · Healthcare
$147.17
-4.1% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
VS
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated · Healthcare
$375.21
+28.2% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade B
High Quality
QuantHub Verdict
UNH has more upside to fair value
(+28.2%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MRK |
UNH |
| Current Price |
$147.17 |
$375.21 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$141.07 |
$481.06 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-4.1%
|
+28.2%
|
| Market Cap |
$363.5B |
$340.7B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
29.6x
|
15.0x
|
| Price / Sales |
5.5x
|
0.8x
|
| Price / FCF |
22.6x
|
14.4x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+5.1%
|
+0.4%
|
| Gross Margin |
75.4%
|
22.5%
|
| Operating Margin |
16.7%
|
4.8%
|
| Return on Equity |
6.6%
|
14.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
2.31% |
2.41% |
| FCF Yield |
4.42%
|
6.95%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Merck & Co., Inc. is a global healthcare leader with two core divisions, Pharmaceuticals and Animal Health, spanning oncology, vaccines, acute hospital care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular and diabetes, and it employs roughly 74,000 people under CEO Robert Davis. The business quality is medium: TTM gross margin of 75.4% and TTM operating margin of 16.7% reflect a genuinely hig…
UnitedHealth Group is the largest diversified healthcare enterprise in the United States, operating UnitedHealthcare insurance plans alongside Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx, with 390,000 employees and a market capitalization of $340.74 billion. The business quality is high: a 14.6% return on equity, $26.07 in free cash flow per share, and a P/FCF of 14.39 demonstrate strong cash gener…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MRK |
UNH |
| Zone Low |
$105.80 |
$360.80 |
| Zone High |
$119.91 |
$408.90 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
Yes
|