MRK vs VST: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Merck & Co., Inc. and Vistra Corp. — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-19.
Merck & Co., Inc. · Healthcare
$147.17
-4.1% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
VS
Vistra Corp. · Utilities
$140.67
-23.0% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
QuantHub Verdict
MRK has more upside to fair value
(-4.1%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MRK |
VST |
| Current Price |
$147.17 |
$140.67 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$141.07 |
$108.27 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-4.1%
|
-23.0%
|
| Market Cap |
$363.5B |
$47.4B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
29.6x
|
10.3x
|
| Price / Sales |
5.5x
|
3.0x
|
| Price / FCF |
22.6x
|
34.7x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+5.1%
|
-5.5%
|
| Gross Margin |
75.4%
|
13.0%
|
| Operating Margin |
16.7%
|
2.3%
|
| Return on Equity |
6.6%
|
41.5%
|
| Dividend Yield |
2.31% |
0.65% |
| FCF Yield |
4.42%
|
2.88%
|
| 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…
Vistra Corp. is a vertically integrated independent power producer and retail electricity supplier operating roughly 38,700 megawatts of generation across natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar, and battery storage, serving about 4.3 million retail customers in 20 states and the District of Columbia. The business quality is mixed: the diversified PJM and ERCOT fleet plus retail load is a genuine struc…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MRK |
VST |
| Zone Low |
$105.80 |
$81.20 |
| Zone High |
$119.91 |
$92.03 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|