Wedbush analyst Liana Moussatos raised her price target for Eiger BioPharmaceuticals (EIGR) to $53 from $36 after the company expanded its licensing agreement with Merck (MRK) to include Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome, or progeria, a fatal premature aging disease for which there are no approved drugs, after publication on April 24 in the Journal of the American Medical Association of Phase 2 results demonstrating a survival benefit -- after 2.2 years, only 1 of 27 lonafarnib-treated progeria syndrome patients died compared to 9 of 27 of untreated patients. In a research note to investors, Moussatos, who has an Outperform rating on shares, said that Eiger now has worldwide rights for progeria, HDV and all lonafarnib indications is a "game-changer" for the company.

FY24 consensus $8.56. Raises FY24 revenue view to $63.1B-$64.3B from $62.7B-$64.2B, consensus $63.83B.

Reports Q1 revenue $15.8B, consensus $15.2B. "Merck has begun 2024 with continuing momentum in our business. We are harnessing the power of innovation to advance our deep pipeline and are maximizing the impact of our broad commercial portfolio for the benefit of patients," said Robert Davis, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck. "We drove strong growth across key therapeutic areas, executed strategic business development, and in the U.S., we are now launching WINREVAIR, a significant new product in the cardiometabolic space for adults with pulmonary arterial hypertension, a progressive and debilitating disease. We have important opportunities ahead of us across all areas of our business, and we are highly focused on realizing them."

Notable companies reporting before tomorrow's open, with earnings consensus, include Merck (MRK), consensus $1.87... Caterpillar (CAT), consensus $5.14... Comcast (CMSCA), consensus 99c... Honeywell (HON), consensus $2.17... Bristol-Myers (BMY), consensus ($4.44)... Altria (MO), consensus $1.15... Keurig Dr. Pepper (KDP), consensus 35c... GE Vernova (GEV), consensus (37c)... Royal Caribbean (RCL), consensus $1.33... Tractor Supply (TSCO), consensus $1.72... Mobileye (MBLY), consensus (6c)... Textron (TXT), consensus $1.23... LabCorp (LH), consensus $3.48... Southwest Airlines (LUV), consensus (34c)... American Airlines (AAL), consensus (29c)... Harley-Davidson (HOG), consensus $1.51.