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The final trades of the day with CNBC's Melissa Lee and the Fast Money traders.

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / February 4, 2025 / Levi & Korsinsky notifies investors that it has commenced an investigation of Merck & Co., Inc. ("Merck & Co.") (NYSE:MRK) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws. On February 4, 2025, before the market opened, Merck issued a press release announcing their fourth-quarter and full-year 2024 results.

Vamil Divan, Guggenheim Securities biopharmaceutical analyst, joins 'Power Lunch' to discuss Merck's troubles in China.

Merck's current high-risk profile led me to initially rate it a strong sell, but recent technical indicators suggested a potential bottom near $100. I've upgraded MRK to a buy, using a "Dog Collar" strategy: buying a put option and selling a call option to limit risk. This approach offers controlled outcomes, with $18 upside and $7 downside risk, ensuring I manage risk while seeking potential gains.

Shares of Merck (MRK -9.66%) were trading lower on Tuesday. The company's stock had lost 10.1% as of 2 p.m.

Healthcare costs are rising, with PwC projecting the highest commercial healthcare spending growth in 13 years, impacting consumers and insurance companies negatively. Healthcare stocks, including Merck & Co., Inc., have underperformed the S&P 500, making them attractive as the broader market reaches high valuations. Despite Merck's recent 30% stock decline due to poor guidance and Gardasil challenges, I believe it offers good long-term value.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK ) Q4 2024 Results Conference Call February 4, 2025 9:00 AM ET Company Participants Peter Dannenbaum - Senior Vice President, Investor Relations Rob Davis - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Caroline Litchfield - Chief Financial Officer Dr. Dean Li - President of Merck Research Labs Conference Call Participants Umer Raffat - Evercore ISI Terence Flynn - Morgan Stanley Luisa Hector - Berenberg Mohit Bansal - Wells Fargo Daina Graybosch - Leerink Partners Geoff Meacham - Citi Chris Schott - JPMorgan Tim Anderson - Bank of America Akash Tewari - Jefferies Trung Huynh - UBS Vamil Divan - Guggenheim Courtney Breen - Bernstein James Shin - Deutsche Bank Operator Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Merck & Company Q4 Sales and Earnings Conference Call.

MRK posts encouraging Q4 results. However, the decision to temporarily halt shipments of Gardasil vaccines to China has affected its 2025 sales forecast.

Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK, ETR:6MK) shares fell more than 10% after the drugmaker issued weak guidance for 2025 and announced it would halt shipments of its HPV vaccine Gardasil to China until at least the middle of the year due to declining demand. It reported a 17% year-over-year decline in Gardasil sales to $1.55 billion for the fourth quarter.

Although the revenue and EPS for Merck (MRK) give a sense of how its business performed in the quarter ended December 2024, it might be worth considering how some key metrics compare with Wall Street estimates and the year-ago numbers.