Merck Stock Has Been A Laggard For Seven Months. Is It Staging A Comeback?

Merck (MRK) stock is shrugging off seven months of underperformance, shooting more than 7% higher in the first week of 2024 on growing excitement for its post-Keytruda life.X And, in the second week of 2024, Merck announced the $680 million takeover of Harpoon Therapeutics (HARP). Harpoon is working in a bread-and-butter area for Merck: immuno-oncology. Its drugs are designed to direct the body's own immune system to kill cancer cells. Harpoon stock ran up by triple digits early Monday, while Merck shares d ...