Merck upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs analyst Terence Flynn upgraded Merck & Co. to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $105, up from $91. The stock closed Friday up $1.25 to $80.24. The analyst's positive outlook on the shares consists of pipeline and balance sheet "optionality." The market is ascribing minimal value to Merck's potential opportunity of $13B-$18B in pipeline assets, Flynn tells investors in a research note. The analyst views the stock's risk/reward as attractive heading into a number of upcoming readouts later this year and into next for cancer, HIV and COVID-19. Meanwhile, Merck has $45B of "firepower" to be more active on the acquisition or business development front as the company paused its share repurchase program earlier this year, says Flynn. The analyst also believes Keytruda loss of exclusivity "tail risk" is priced into the stock.