MRK vs NUVB Stock Comparison

Merck and Nuvation Bio Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MRK Merck & Co., Inc.
$141.84 -4.7% 1M +61.2% 1Y
Market cap
$347.00B
P/E
109.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$66.57B
Div. yield
0.02%
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
6 wins
NUVB Nuvation Bio Inc.
$4.54 -20.6% 1M -9.9% 1Y
Market cap
$1.57B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$169.90M
Div. yield
–
Pharmaceuticals Healthcare
2 wins

Head to Head

8 decided of 12

Merck leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Merck 6, Nuvation Bio 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMRKNUVBLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $347.00B $1.57B MRK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 109.4x -10.5x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 57.2x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.6% +1,083.6% NUVB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.8% -88.2% MRK
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 3.6% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.6x 4.9x MRK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +61.2% -9.9% MRK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +10.4%/yr -13.7%/yr MRK
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.6% 79.1% MRK
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 63/100 NUVB

Percentile Scorecard

MRKNUVB

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisMRKNUVB
Valuation 80 #124 of 625 59 #256 of 625
Growth 36 #384 of 602 61 #236 of 602
Profitability 91 #53 of 551 65 #192 of 551
Financial Health 20 #526 of 656 67 #218 of 656
Shareholder Returns 82 #68 of 365 64 #131 of 365
Overall 62 63
  • MRK ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
  • NUVB ranked among 672 companies in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodMRKNUVBSPY
1 month -4.7%-20.6% -0.2%
3 months +7.6%-32.2% +3.9%
6 months +28.9%-0.4% +8.2%
Year to date +34.8%-49.3% +12.9%
1 year +61.2%-9.9% +12.3%
3 years +37.9%+345.1% +87.4%
3 years, per year +11.3%+64.6% +23.3%
5 years +63.9%-52.2% +67.9%
5 years, per year +10.4%-13.7% +10.9%
10 years +131.4%— +261.1%
10 years, per year +8.8%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMRKNUVBSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.6%79.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.6%76.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.121.64 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.07-0.13 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -44.7%-90.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.3%-52.4% -1.2%
52-week high $156.45$9.54 $779.14
52-week low $82.49$4.05 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleMRKNUVB
P/E now vs peer median 110.4xmedian 17.2x -10.6xmedian 17.2x
P/S now vs peer median 5.3xmedian 9.0x 9.3xmedian 9.0x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 30.3xmedian 16.3x -6.8xmedian 16.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 21.8xmedian 18.7x -12.2xmedian 18.7x
P/B now vs peer median 8.3xmedian 2.2x 6.2xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 69.50median 0.33 8.07median 0.33

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsMRKNUVB
Revenue $66.57B $169.90M
Gross profit $48.57B –
Operating income $6.38B -$137.63M
Net income $3.17B -$149.83M
Free cash flow $16.06B -$128.93M
R&D $30.45B $128.85M
EPS (diluted) $1.28 $-0.43
Cash & equivalents $6.85B $258.60M
Total debt $53.91B $5.89M
Shares (diluted) 2.47B 348.77M
Enterprise value $301.38B -$699.99M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricMRKNUVB
P/E 110.4x -10.6x
P/FCF 21.8x -12.2x
P/Operating cash flow 17.5x -13.1x
P/S 5.3x 9.3x
P/B 8.3x 6.2x
P/Tangible book 20.6x 6.5x
EV/EBITDA 30.3x -6.8x
EV/EBIT 62.2x -6.7x
EV/Revenue 6.0x 5.4x
EV/FCF 24.7x -7.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.9x -7.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 69.50 8.07

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMRKNUVB
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.6% 1,084%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.5% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) -0.3% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 4.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) -66.6% 38.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 1.9% -9.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -80.7% 26.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 0.5% -18.3%
EPS growth (1Y) -80.3% 27.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 1.6% -1.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 7.7% 28.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.8% -14.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 9.1% 23.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 14.0% -16.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMRKNUVB
Gross margin 73.0% –
EBITDA margin 19.7% -79.0%
Operating margin 9.6% -81.0%
Pretax margin 8.9% -88.2%
Net margin 4.8% -88.2%
FCF margin 24.1% -75.9%
Operating cash flow margin 30.0% -70.9%
Return on equity 7.2% -52.3%
Return on assets 2.5% -22.1%
Return on invested capital 3.6% –
Return on capital employed 6.3% -23.3%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 6.3x 0.8x
Stock comp / revenue 1.3% 20.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMRKNUVB
Debt / assets 41.5% 0.8%
Debt / equity 1.3x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.6x 4.9x
Debt / FCF 3.4x 0.0x
Liabilities / assets 67.7% 65.9%
Equity / assets 32.3% 34.1%
Interest coverage – -5.2x
Current ratio 1.3x 8.4x
Quick ratio 0.7x 7.9x
Cash ratio 0.3x 7.6x
Altman Z-score 3.83 0.37

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMRKNUVB
Dividend yield 2.4% –
Net buyback yield 1.1% -0.7%
Shareholder yield 3.5% -0.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 261.8% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 51.7% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.3% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 4.7% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusMRKNUVB
Forward P/E 57.2xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $2.48FY2026 $-0.38FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -72.4%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +257.3% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $69.45BFY2026 $187.51MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +6.8%FY2026 +198.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -3.8% +52.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMRKNUVB
Held by institutions 79.9% 66.6%
Institutions holding 3,796 238
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.6% +5.7%
Institutions buying 1,842 148
Institutions selling 1,464 50
Buyers to sellers 1.26 2.96

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

MRKNUVB
MRK 1.00 0.19
NUVB 0.19 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MRK and NUVB?

Merck (MRK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Merck (MRK) $347.00B, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) $1.57B.

Which company is growing faster?

Nuvation Bio (NUVB) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Merck (MRK) +4.6%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) +1,083.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Merck (MRK) has the highest net margin (Merck (MRK) 4.8%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -88.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Merck (MRK) returned the most: Merck (MRK) +61.2%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -9.9%. Over five years, Merck (MRK) compounded fastest (Merck (MRK) +10.4%/yr, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) -13.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Merck (MRK) 0.02%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) 0.00%. Nuvation Bio (NUVB) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Merck (MRK) has been the steadiest (Merck (MRK) 29.6%, Nuvation Bio (NUVB) 79.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do MRK and NUVB move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.19, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, MRK and NUVB?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Merck (MRK) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.