Merck & Co. stock gains on EU bladder cancer move

Published on 09/19/2026 at 12:01 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS

Merck & Co. stock traded at USD 146.30 on September 19, 2026, with market cap at USD 360.947 billion. HSBC kept its Buy rating and raised its target to USD 172 on September 10, 2026.

Photorealistic wide-angle view of a modern oncology research laboratory. A scientist in white lab coat examines cancer cell slides under a fluorescence microscope. Amber glass vials with pharmaceutical compounds line the stainless steel bench. Biosafety c — Merck US58933Y1055 Onkologie-Labor: Wissenschaftler am Mikroskop analysiert Krebszellen, mehrere Wirkstoff-Vials stehen auf der Werkbank, Illustration mit AI erstellt.

Merck & Co. stock (ISIN US58933Y1055) traded at USD 146.30 on September 19, 2026, with market value at USD 360.947 billion and volume at 31.16 million shares. The shares were 0.58 percent lower on the day, after HSBC kept its Buy rating and raised its target to USD 172 from USD 150 on September 10, 2026.

EU cancer catalyst

Merck said on September 18, 2026 that the European Medicines Agency's CHMP adopted a positive opinion for KEYTRUDA plus Padcev in resectable muscle-invasive bladder cancer, and the company said a final European Commission decision is expected by the fourth quarter of 2026. In the same release, Merck said the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-B15 study reduced the risk of event-free survival events by 47 percent, with 87 of 405 patients in one arm versus 146 of 403 in the comparison arm.

The same release also said overall survival risk fell by 35 percent, with 69 of 405 deaths versus 99 of 403, and pathologic complete response was 55.8 percent versus 32.5 percent. That gives the market a concrete read-through: the bladder cancer franchise is still producing regulatory and clinical milestones even as the company moves closer to a European label expansion.

Guidance and margins

On September 18, 2026, Trefis said Merck's trailing 12-month revenue was USD 66.6 billion, up 4.6 percent, while operating margin was 10.5 percent versus a three-year average of 22.4 percent. The same report said Merck raised and narrowed full-year 2026 revenue guidance to USD 66.3 billion to USD 67.3 billion, equal to growth of 2 percent to 4 percent, or about 1 percent to 3 percent excluding currency.

For investors, that mix matters more than the headline stock move. Merck also reported a USD 5.7 billion charge in the second quarter of 2026, equal to about 9 percent of a year's sales, which helps explain why earnings quality remains under scrutiny even as the pipeline advances.

Stock near the high

Merck's shares traded between USD 145.74 and USD 147.84 on September 19, 2026, within a 52-week range of USD 77.58 to USD 156.92. The stock was also up 41.85 percent year to date and 84.70 percent over one year, according to the Yahoo Finance snapshot used here.