Here's Why Merck & Co., Inc. Tanked 14% in October

Here's Why Merck & Co., Inc. Tanked 14% in October

Shares of America's second largest pharmaceutical company, Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) suffered their worst month in years, falling 14% in October, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Although the company improved its outlook for the rest of 2017, it seems Keytruda's growth might not provide enough lift to keep the entire company from losing altitude.

In the third quarter, Merck reported a year-over-year 194% rise in sales of Keytruda, largely due to a recent label expansion that made it the only drug of its class available for newly diagnosed non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients in the U.S. last year. At a $4.2 billion annualized run rate, the immunotherapy drug is the company's second largest revenue stream, and is singlehandedly pulling along a freight train full of aging products with declining sales.

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Source: Fool.com