MRK vs WDC: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Merck & Co., Inc. and Western Digital Corporation β fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-19.
Merck & Co., Inc. Β· Healthcare
$147.17
-4.1% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
VS
Western Digital Corporation Β· Technology
$441.36
-16.8% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
QuantHub Verdict
MRK has more upside to fair value
(-4.1%).
These are model outputs β not personalized investment advice.
See all research β
Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
MRK |
WDC |
| Current Price |
$147.17 |
$441.36 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$141.07 |
$367.30 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-4.1%
|
-16.8%
|
| Market Cap |
$363.5B |
$152.1B |
| Forward P/E |
β
|
β
|
| EV / EBITDA |
29.6x
|
17.4x
|
| Price / Sales |
5.5x
|
11.8x
|
| Price / FCF |
22.6x
|
47.3x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+5.1%
|
+43.8%
|
| Gross Margin |
75.4%
|
48.9%
|
| Operating Margin |
16.7%
|
34.9%
|
| Return on Equity |
6.6%
|
118.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
2.31% |
0.12% |
| FCF Yield |
4.42%
|
2.12%
|
| 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 higβ¦
Western Digital designs and manufactures hard disk drives and flash-based storage for data centers, client devices, and consumer markets, and it is currently enjoying an extraordinary demand surge tied to AI infrastructure buildouts. In the most recent quarter, revenue grew 43.8% year over year and earnings grew 1143.2% year over year, while trailing twelve-month gross margin reached 48.9%, operaβ¦
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
MRK |
WDC |
| Zone Low |
$105.80 |
$275.48 |
| Zone High |
$119.91 |
$312.20 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|