Volatility is a statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index, it shows how the price swings around its mean. The volatility here is measured as the annualized standard deviation between monthly returns from the security over the past year. In most cases, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security.
As of today (2024-04-27), Merck's Volatility is 19.87%.
Competitive Comparison of Merck's Volatility
For the Drug Manufacturers - General subindustry, Merck's Volatility, along with its competitors' market caps and Volatility data, can be viewed below:
* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.
Merck's Volatility Distribution in the Drug Manufacturers Industry
For the Drug Manufacturers industry and Healthcare sector, Merck's Volatility distribution charts can be found below:
* The bar in red indicates where Merck's Volatility falls into.
Merck (NYSE:MRK) Volatility Calculation
The annualized volatility is calculated as following:
σA
=
σM
*
√12
=
√ 1/(n-1) ∑(Ri - R')^2
*
√12
Where: σM is the monthly volatility, n is the number of months in the period, Ri is the security's historical monthly returns and R' is the arithmetic mean of monthly returns.
* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD. * For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.
Merck (NYSE:MRK) Volatility Explanation
Volatility is a statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. It’s often measured as standard deviation or variance of historical returns over a certain period. The volatility here is measured as the annualized standard deviation between monthly returns from the security over the past year.
Volatility reflects the uncertainty or risk of a security’s value. Generally speaking, a higher volatility suggests a higher risk, because it implies a wider fluctuation around average price. This means the price of the security can change dramatically in either direction within a short period. Conversely, a lower volatility means that the security's price is more steady, which suggests a lower risk.
Another measurement of relative volatility is Beta. Beta is a measure of systematic risk of a security or a portfolio in comparison to the market as a whole. Beta is usually compared to 1. A beta of greater than 1 indicates that the security's price will be more volatile than the market.
Merck Volatility Related Terms
Thank you for viewing the detailed overview of Merck's Volatility provided by GuruFocus.com. Please click on the following links to see related term pages.
Merck makes pharmaceutical products to treat several conditions in a number of therapeutic areas, including cardiometabolic disease, cancer, and infections. Within cancer, the firm's immuno-oncology platform is growing as a major contributor to overall sales. The company also has a substantial vaccine business, with treatments to prevent pediatric diseases as well as human papillomavirus, or HPV. Additionally, Merck sells animal health-related drugs. From a geographical perspective, just under half of the company's sales are generated in the United States.
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